Williamstown's Colonial Pizza Has New Owner With Old Ties
 Constantine and Eleni Anagnos have retired from the business they spent 44 years operating. Family friend Steven Peltier is taking over the operation. |
But it isn't moving too far from the family.
Longtime resident Steven Peltier has purchased Colonial Pizza from owners Constantine and Eleni Anagnos, who have decided to retire after 44 years in business.
"In the press release [announcing the purchase], I called myself a 'longtime family acquaintance,' but really, they've been like a family to me," Peltier said on Thursday afternoon.
"I call Constantine, Constantine, but I call his wife 'Mama.' It's just been a whole family thing, and whatever I can do to continue what they built on, I'm honored to do."
And although Peltier is now the one who signs the paychecks, many of those checks will continue to go to the Anagnos' children, who will remain employees at the pizzeria, which has called several locations home before returning to its original location at 234 Main St. (Route 2).
That is the location where Greek immigrants Constantine and Eleni built the family business from scratch and wove it into the fabric of the community.
Peltier wants to continue that tradition.
"I told them in the beginning, 'You folks are Greek. I'm of Italian heritage. There's not much that's going to change," he said. "The sense of community they have and some of the things they do for the community through the restaurant are things that I want to continue to do to.
"I want to preserve this place and keep it going and find ways to contribute. I've lived in this area for half my life. My kids grew up in Williamstown.
"They say, 'It takes a village to raise your kids.' Well, it took the Village Beautiful to raise my kids."
Peltier has worked in the food and beverage and hospitality industry in Williamstown for more than 20 years, including a significant stretch at the Williams Inn, where he learned a lot about the management side of running a restaurant.
He earned a bachelor's degree in English and communications from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and is a graduate of the Berkshire Enterprises entrepreneurial training program. He currently works at MCLA and is studying in the school's Professional MBA program.
He had a dream to own his own business.
"Part of the whole idea was Constantine and his wife wanted to retire," Peltier said. "The kids wanted to keep working here, but they didn't want to deal with the back end stuff. They wanted to come in, cook and interact with the customers.
"None of us wanted someone else to come in and turn it into something else. It's a 44-year tradition now. We want to keep that going. A lot of college students come back and say, 'I remember when ...' "
Peltier wants to preserve those memories and help create new ones for the next generation of pizza lovers.
"Part of it was to help the family to be able to carry on that tradition and keep the family recipes the way it has been for all of that time," he said.
That said, he has started putting his stamp on the business since formally taking over on Feb. 1.
The most noticeable change may be the switch to bead board instead of wallpaper in the dining area. Other changes he is contemplating adding choices for dessert (currently just baklava) to include items like Italian-style cheesecake or tiramisu.
But in general, he doesn't plan any radical changes.
"I'd like to work a little more promoting the business more through social media," Peltier said. "We're working on an app for online ordering, things like that.
"A lot of it is just promoting things they already do, like offering a half-baked pizza that people can bring home and finish in their oven when they want it. We do a lot of catering that people aren't aware of."
And while some things will change around the shop, one thing continues: the presence of Constantine Anagnos, who is enjoying his retirement but still keeping an eye on the business he and his wife built.
"He still pops in," Peltier said. "He'll come in, see what's going on, see what changes I've made.
"After 44 years of doing this for 40-50-60 hours a week, I couldn't expect him to stay away. It's nice to have him around."
Tags: new owner, pizza, restaurant,
