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Rochelle Park Pizzeria Is Labor Of Love

ROCHELLE PARK, N.J. — Ivan Many slides a pie into Torino Pizza’s oven right as a pair of customers walk into his Rochelle Park store.

Ivan Many of Torino Pizza.

Ivan Many of Torino Pizza.

Photo Credit: Cecilia Levine
Marie and Eddie Quinn stop in to Torino's Pizza for lunch in Rochelle Park.

Marie and Eddie Quinn stop in to Torino's Pizza for lunch in Rochelle Park.

Photo Credit: Cecilia Levine
French fry pie awaits heating at Torino's.

French fry pie awaits heating at Torino's.

Photo Credit: Cecilia Levine

A smile spreads across Many's face and he asks the pair, seemingly regulars, how they're doing.

After a couple minutes of conversing, Many takes their orders — well, he confirms they'll be having "the usual."

This is how business operates at Torino Pizza.

“Money and everything else in life just comes and goes,” said Many, a Closter native. 

“The moments you share with people — that’s all we have.”

The food and beverage industry was all Many knew until the early 2000s, when he began working for a kitchen appliance repair company.

But Many — who had long been seeking an opportunity to work for himself — jumped at the management opening at Torino in 2013.

He brought in his mother, Susan, along with her family soup recipes two or three times a week. 

Many did away with anything that wasn't being produced in-house — aside from chicken fingers and fries — and began cultivating customer relationships.

The food is what initially attracts customers to Torino's, but it seems like the affable staff is what keeps them coming back.

“People will remember the times you shared and how you treated them,” Many said. 

“I enjoy it — it’s why I got into this industry in the first place.”

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