Inheriting an established restaurant, its regular customers, menu and personality — how do you make it your own without losing the history?
It is as difficult as it sounds, something Matt Pennock came to realize in July 2022 when he took over Yonkers Pizza Co.
“It’s been an uphill battle, you’re starting off with what someone has already built, as opposed to doing it yourself which is what I’m used to,” Pennock says.
Pennock has been around restaurants most of his life in addition to stints in commercial real estate. But despite his hospitality background and his time working with the previous owner of Yonkers, he needed help when it came time to take the reins.
He found that help in the restaurant’s existing staff.
“I’ve been very lucky; we’ve had a very good staff that made the transition easier,” Pennock said.
While keeping many of the Yonkers classics, Pennock set out to diversify the menu. He added sautées, wings, calzones, strombolis, chicken parm subs and a new house-made pizza sauce to the restaurant’s offerings.
Long-time fans of Yonkers will still feel at home, he says.
“We want to continue the legacy of the brand and not just slap our own name on it and change everything completely,” Pennock says.
Yonkers pizzas are baked in true Empire State-fashion — 550 degrees in a brick oven.
But the sauce isn’t quite what one would expect.
“Our pizza is what’s called an upside-down pizza,” Pennock says. “It’s cheese on bottom and sauce on top, and with the sauce that we have it really boosts that flavor.”
The menu offers high-end toppings such as truffle oil and prosciutto. There is even a nod to a Dallas staple: sausage from Jimmy’s Food Store.
“(Jimmy’s) is not cheap by any means, but it’s hands-down the best sausage in Dallas,” Pennock says. “Pizza is one of the easiest things to tell where they’ve skimped on a product.”
The store’s proximity to office buildings and a lunch special offering two slices and a drink for $7 have cemented Yonkers as a lunchtime favorite.
Pennock says a second Yonkers location may be in the business’ future, but proximity is key in that decision.
“I’d like to do it to where it’s still close enough to where I can keep my hands on it,” he says.
The restaurant attracts a good number of New Yorkers, and what city knows pizza better?
Recent menu additions aside, an authentic slice will always be the bedrock of Yonkers.
“It’s always a competition to see how close we can get,” Pennock says. “Nine times out of 10 we get told that that’s the closest thing to true, New York-style pizza you can get in Dallas.”
Yonkers Pizza CO. 8421 Westchester Dr.
yonkerspizzaco.com. 972.982.0862
