What started as a financial risk restaurant in 1964 will now celebrate its soon-to-be diamond anniversary in the Nickel City.
Cortina Pizza, with its three locations in the city, is known for its Kitchen Sink Pizza and its cheesy meatball sandwiches.
The story goes that Tony Masotti, who hailed from Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy started the venture with only a quarter in his pocket.
That first location was on Shaughnessy Street. It moved to Brady in the late 1960s.
By the 1980s, there were 22 locations in the province. Many were sitdown restaurants.
Troy Kirkwood, the current manager of the three Sudbury locations, said the only locations to survive were the ones that did not turn into full-fledged restaurants.
Kirkwood’s dad, Darren, bought the whole franchise in 1997 and then branched off in the new millennium by selling off the Espanola and Hanmer locations.
Three still stand under his ownership on Paris Street, Lorne Street and on Barrydowne Road.
Troy said he started working in Grade 7 as a means to feed his love of music; he needed cash to buy compact discs and records.
He has stuck around in his adult life in charge of scheduling, staffing and food preparation.
“Guy Daoust, who retired this year, started with the company in 1978 and taught me everything I know. I spent many years watching and learning from him,” Kirkwood said.
And while the restaurant industry has changed over the years one thing that hasn’t is Kirkwood’s love for the food he makes. His favourite remains the Our Own Delight pizza with its pepperoni, bacon, mushrooms, extra cheese and onions.
He believes the sausage on a bun is underrated and impeccable. Kirkwood said no one can ever go wrong with the pepperoni and cheese pizza either.
He said the franchise is “mega old-fashioned” and doesn’t offer lactose-free or gluten-free options. The chef salads, caesar salads and Cortina salads are big sellers for those who are careful with their calories.
Kirkwood said the key to great hot submarine sandwiches is “to not skimp on the cheese or meats,” which are sourced from D&A Fine Meats coupled with buns from Golden Grain Bakery.
He’s also trying to put more of a focus on customer service in the aftermath of the pandemic.
“Last summer, a family visited from North Bay unsure of what to get. Clearly they had never been here before. So I offered samples of the meatball subs. They were so impressed that they left with a sizable order of 10 subs,” he said.
There are customers in Kelowna who come for the in house-made pizza sauce.
Kirkwood said a lot of customers roll through Sudbury though for their Cortina fix of rigatoni, spaghetti and lasagnas.
He’s convinced the price points, fast service and quality are what they have also become accustomed to as well.
The Kirkwood Cortina Pizza restaurant locations are on Barrydowne, Paris Street and Lorne Street in the City of Greater Sudbury.
Visit the website at CortinaPizza.ca and find them on Facebook here.
Anastasia Rioux is a writer in Greater Sudbury. Let’s Eat! is made possible by our Community Leaders Program.
