Our Story
“Hey, how ’bout a slice?”
There is no doubt that Ziggy Viscusi has heard that phrase countless times since his father, Antonio, founded Angela’s Pizza in 1974. And like many carnivals around the country, Angela’s is now operating with a third generation and celebrating its 40th anniversary in business.
Ziggy’s son, Tonio, joined his father full-time last year after graduating from college in May 2013. A month later, a second concession trailer was added, and Tonio has fully embraced the business, named after his grandmother, “Nonna Angela.”
“Basically, for the first 10 years, we began as 40-milers, just doing the local fairs near our home in Schenectady, N.Y.,” remembers Ziggy. “Then I met John Vivona of Amusements of America, and he offered to take us out of state. So, we started traveling with his show around 1984. We started expanding our boundaries with John’s help. He approached me and wanted to book us, and we grew with him.”
Antonio and Ziggy were able to work together until the elder Viscusi became ill and, unfortunately, passed away in 1992.
By then, Tonio had been born to Ziggy and Raffaella Viscusi. “The first time he actually tagged along with me, Tonio was probably only four years old,” remembers Ziggy. Fast-forward to 2014, and now Angela’s Pizza is going strong with Ziggy, the 23-year-old Tonio, and two concession trailers serving their staples—pizza, fried dough, giant mozzarella sticks, corn dogs, and funnel cakes.
“It’s great working with my son… it’s like no other,” said Ziggy. “You know, it is complete trust. Having Tonio as a partner sheds a new light on the whole thing, and it’s like a breath of fresh air.”
Tonio is appreciative as well, for the opportunity. As a young graduate of Siena College in upstate New York, Tonio has seen others his age struggling to find jobs.
“I graduated and just kind of went into this business headfirst, instead of just helping in the summers,” said Tonio. “Since going full-time, it’s really taken off for us.
A young Ziggy with his father, Antonio, having fun on the job in 1976.
“I really didn’t know that I would do this as a career when I went off to college. Really, I didn’t know,” continued young Tonio. “I needed to pay for school, and an education wasn’t cheap at all. We got the additional trailer so that I could make more money to pay for tuition. Once I saw the living that I could make and the ability to pay for school, I decided to stay in the business. I’ve been around the business for my entire life, so I’m pretty good at it.”
Angela’s Food is independent but books with Amusements of America for much of their schedule. According to Tonio, he and his father have both Angela’s trailers at the same fair about 75 percent of the time.
“I usually have the funnel cake trailer, and Dad has the pizza,” explained Tonio. “It works out well. Some people think that we’re separate, but it’s just two trailers and one business.”
Following his parents’ divorce, Tonio lived with his mother in Schenectady and went to high school at Christian Brothers Academy, a private military school in nearby Albany. He played baseball in high school, but Tonio’s main passion may have been dirt bikes.
“I still have several dirt bikes, but that’s about it,” said Tonio. “I used to race a lot, but I have veered away from that because if I get hurt, I’d be unable to work. I guess it’s time to grow up a little bit.”
At Siena, Tonio emphasized sociology and business and is proud that he achieved a 3.0-grade point average. While there, a friendship turned into a relationship, and now, Tonio’s girlfriend, Corina Zarrillo, helps him in the food trailer.
Angela and Antonio in 1977, holding seven-foot loaf, used to cater a wedding.
“She had been a long-time family friend, and we ended up at the same college,” recalls Tonio. “My junior year, she was a freshman, and we just started hanging out a little. Then we started dating, and now she’s right there with me during the summer.”
In fact, at the Saratoga County Fair in late July, Angela’s (with Tonio and Corina manning the trailer) received the vendor award for the best concession there.
Corina returns to college this fall for her final semester. She will graduate early in December with a degree in business management.
In addition to the two trailers, Angela’s Pizza has a permanent building at the Altamont Fair, just outside of Albany. In addition to the usual menu, Angela’s has hamburgers, hot dogs, sausages, and French fries at the Altamont site. There is also a good chance that Angela herself will be present at Altamont.
“Nonna is awesome,” beams Tonio. “She’s retired now, so she doesn’t come out on the road, but whenever we’re in the Albany area, she always tries to come out and see us. She works two or three fairs a year.”
Tonio is proud of his Italian heritage, too, and that he is a third-generation businessman.
“My dad and I are now business partners,” said Tonio. “Again, my friends are struggling to find jobs, so I feel fortunate. As the son, I am just trying to make the business better, just like my dad made it better than how my grandfather started.”
Tonio also realizes that his presence was a needed spark for his father and the business.
“Dad has allowed me to start modernizing things a bit,” said Tonio. “You have to keep up with times and not get stuck in the past too much. In addition to LED lighting, we have TV monitors on our trailers for our menu boards and pricing. It’s just more modern and appealing to customers.
“And credit cards really changed the business,” continued Tonio. “At first, Dad didn’t really want to go there, but now we don’t even think about it. It’s a way of life now.”
Modernization is nice, but so are the traditions that Angela’s many repeat customers have grown to love.
“We make everything fresh,” said Tonio proudly. “We’ve had the same sauce recipe for 40 years and make it ourselves. We don’t buy packaged cheese; we shred our own mozzarella. We take this very seriously. We use fresh and high-quality ingredients so that we can offer a great product that people will remember.”
Angela’s Pizza has four to five employees during the season between the two trailers, according to Tonio. He said the largest events that they work are the Meadowlands in New Jersey and the South Florida Fair in West Palm Beach.
Tonio Viscusi hand tossing a pizza
Tonio Viscusi and Corina Zarrillo at the Saratoga (N.Y.) County Fair last month. They won the vendor award for that event.
Ziggy said that Angela’s only books with Amusements of America during the times it is not going independent. Angela’s top independent dates, in addition to the Meadowlands and West Palm Beach, include Saratoga and Cobleskill in New York, Washington County (N.Y.), Frederick, Md., Orlando, Fla., and the Cherry Blossom Festival in Macon, Ga.
“This year, we did some fairs in the springtime with both units of Amusements of America,” said Ziggy. “Marco’s and Dominic’s (Vivona) unit, then we did the Meadowlands as an independent, and now we are with Morris’ (Vivona) unit for a couple of weeks and then back to the independent. We’ll finish the season with Morris’ unit.”
And, no doubt, the Viscusi team is looking forward to many more seasons on the midway.
Angela’s Concessions, owned and operated by the Viscusi family, has been vending at special events along the East Coast for more than 50 years.
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