01/26/2022
We wanted to inform those of you who do not already know that after 10 years of owning and operating Tony’s, we have decided it is time for us to move on. Some months back we put the property on the market and we now have a buyer. We entered into contract and in preparation for the sale we will be closing at the end of the night this Saturday the 29th.
It was not an easy decision for us to make but in retrospect it’s quite simple because now, for many reasons it’s what is best for our family. We are sad, our 3 children are also sad. We all love Tony’s. We love you guys. We never could have survived a decade in business without you. We have been happy to be here for you for the past 10 years but more importantly we are ever so grateful that you have been here for us!
In January 2010, just days after we brought our oldest daughter Phoebe home from the hospital, we were presented with the opportunity to buy Tony’s which had been sitting vacant for almost 4 years. We decided to go for it. It took us an entire year to secure the funding to do so but we did, and it was ours. After close to a year of renovating we were running out of money and came to the conclusion we needed to get open right away. We decided we were going to open on Friday. Friday came and halfway through the day we realized it was Friday the 13th! 😲 Could we still open? Were we headed for disaster? We knew what we had to do, stick to the plan. We had ordered some chicken wings and a couple of kegs of beer (who remembers Beck’s on tap) and after 6 years of being shut down we turned the Tony’s Pizzeria neon back on. People came, it was a successful night and we’ve been flipping those 1st two kegs and slinging wings ever since. Turns out opening up on Friday the 13th was a good night for us to begin what would become an amazing 10-year journey. It was a good omen. 10 days later when our son Drake was just 4 months old, we celebrated Phoebe’s 2nd birthday, the 1st of countless celebrations at Tony’s for our own family as well as your families. Our youngest daughter Penelope came along in the spring of 2014, our family now complete. The kids have had so much fun (and pizza) at all the parties & parades, helping in the kitchen making sauces, pizza & salads, helping Donna out, pestering Eileen and just running around like they own the place!! Just this past Saturday night we celebrated Phoebe’s 12th birthday with pizza and cake at Tony’s, sadly that was the final birthday celebration in our family restaurant but things change and life goes on so we’ll just have to wait and see what the future holds. Tony’s will be part of our story; it won’t be our whole story.
Getting older we realize that in the scope of things 10 years isn’t an exceptionally long period of time especially when you’re doing something you mostly love. Time flies. We’ve succeeded in doing many things we wanted to do at Tony’s and there are somethings we just couldn’t get to. We learned first hand what is meant by pouring your blood, sweat and tears into something. We’ve forged many new lifelong friendships and we’ve lost some very special loved ones along the way.
Tony’s has a rich history dating all the way back to 1937 when Tony Saccoman first opened up. We were the 6th in line. We always think of Tony’s as something that belongs to Kingston (to all of you)and like those before us we were just putting in our time as the caretakers. We hope the new owners realize what they are acquiring and honor the tradition of Tony’s as a place to gather, eat, drink and be merry!
The fact that we are sad to leave must mean it was something good. It was definitely good, thanks to you folks!!
We want to extend our heartfelt thank you to all of you! Thank you for the love, the good times and the memories. Thank you for helping us to keep the lights on!!
Grazie Mille ~ A thousand thanks
Sláinte!
With gratitude and so much love,
D & Nealey
