Thursday, July 31, 2008-Wednesday, August 13, 2008

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News Flash!

New York-Style Pizza at the Emporium

By Fred DeVecca
fred@shelburnefallsindependent.net

COLRAIN – The much-missed Green Emporium, which has been closed for the past five years, has reopened under the same management and ownership but in a slightly different form as Mike and Tony’s Pizzeria at Green Emporium. The grand opening occurred November 27.

Co-owners, Pacifico “Tony” Palumbo and Michael Collins operated the eatery in a converted Methodist church from 1994 through 2003. The building has been on the market, but since it didn’t sell, Collins and Palumbo decided to reopen with some changes.

“We decided to reopen and make it more affordable with the economy the way it is today,” said Palumbo, “and offer the kinds of food that would bring more of the local people to come. Pizza will be the main item. We’re going to offer a New York-style pizza. Michael has been working on his own dough. It’s our own flavor and taste. It’ll be a thin crust, but we’re also offering a Sicilian thick crust type of pizza. We’ll have a variety of toppings. Michael is working on one with apples and cheddar cheese. We’ll also offer the traditional marinara pizza which has mozzarella and tomato, fresh tomatoes when available, and basil.”

Pizza will be offered by the slice as well as by the whole pie, to eat-in or take-out. The restaurant has maintained its full liquor license, so a wide range of beer, wines and other drinks is available.

“We’re going to have quite a variety of beers – local beers from the Berkshire Brewing Company and Sam Adams, and bottled beers, including Miller and Bud…a lot of foreign beers, too.”

A special feature will be fresh-baked breads.

“We have a woman working with us now,” Palumbo says, “and she’s going to be baking with Michael and offering Italian-style breads.”

In addition to offering pizza, the new Green Emporium will serve some of its old favorites from its previous incarnation, says Palumbo.

“We’re going to bring back certain dishes that we were known for, like mussels. And we’ll offer the bread with that. We’ll have soup. And we’ll develop our own rolls, too. We’ll have burgers from the Hager Farm. Pizza will be the main attraction, but we’re going to bring a lot of things we served before back. But it’s not going to be fancy dining like we used to do. It will be affordable for all.”

Palumbo and Collins have changed the layout of the restaurant slightly as well.

“We’ve expanded our kitchen,” says Palumbo, “and we’ve expanded our bar; now it’s 13 feet long, but there’s room here for it because it’s a former church. And we’ve put in a whole new station for the pizzas.”

Pizza means a lot to Palumbo. He’s got it in his blood, so to speak.

“Pizza is something that shouldn’t just be sloughed off,” he says. “As an Italian person from Brooklyn, I remember the kind of pizza I had there. And Michael has developed a style that is reminiscent of that. We’re hoping to bring the New York-style pizza to Colrain and to the whole area. You’ve tried all the other pizzas out there. Now come and try ours.”

Regular hours for the winter will be Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 5-9 p.m. You can reach Mike and Tony’s Pizzeria at Green Emporium at 413-624-5122. They are located at 4 Main Road on the village common.