After more than 30 years, the doors of Amadio’s Pizza in Port Credit will close for the final time on Saturday night.
“The last few years have been very difficult with COVID and the passing of elderly family members, so now is the time,” emotional owner Joe Leroux told City News.
Leroux said a key factor in the decision to close was the six-month road closure due to nearby railway construction, which drastically changed traffic patterns in the area and cut the pizzeria’s business in half. He added.
“The day the tracks were closed, it became very inconvenient to get here, so sales went down. In fact, it only takes about 30 days to change a habit or create a new habit in life. ” Leroux explained. “And when the track reopened, many people were unable to return because of the economic situation. The math doesn’t add up.”
In an online post announcing the closure, Leroux said he made the decision to close because he didn’t have the energy to rebuild the business and couldn’t find an imminent buyer.
“It’s mixed emotions,” Leroux said. “It was a challenge. This is what I’ve been doing for the last 33 years.”
“A lot has changed. We were one of the first pizzerias to implement caller ID, but we didn’t have cell phones, so we used two-way radios with our drivers. ”
The pizzeria has been flooded with orders since announcing its closure. Joe, along with his wife, daughter and their staff, have struggled to meet the demands of a community preparing to say goodbye to a company known for supporting local sports teams, food banks and School Pizza Day. ing.
“We got slammed. We had to close early every night. We sold out every night. We set a business record for the last three days,” Leroux said.
