Paisano's Pizzeria closes in Genesee Depot
After eight years delivering pizza and entertaining guests in Genesee Depot, Paisano's Pizzeria is closing its doors Jan. 31.
After a lease disagreement, owner Tom Munsie said it's bittersweet to be leaving the Genesee Depot area and the customers he has grown close to.
"We get the same people that order on Saturday or order on Sunday, and when they come in on a different day I say, 'What are you coming in here for, it's not Sunday,' " Munsie said. "You know the customer, you know what they order, and the customer feels more comfortable knowing their order is going to be right."
Munsie has just begun his search for a new home for Paisano's but has taken special interest in the Mukwonago area.
"I've looked primarily in Mukwonago. I really want to be in a city where there is a little more traffic and is still community-oriented," Munsie said.
Community is important to Paisano's. The business has sponsored Little League teams and other community initiatives in Genesee Depot. Munsie said he has also enjoyed working with high school fundraisers by doing "sell a slice" or providing gift certificates for raffles and other events.
There's also a sense of community in the small staff that makes up the small pizzeria. Munsie said he primarily hires high school students, and they tend to stay until they reach college.
"The people that are working here say they want to go wherever I go," Munsie said. "They are also disheartened by the closing, which I understand because having the business is like having another kid."
Munsie, whose own family has worked at the restaurant, said he hopes staff members will come with him to his new location, but he also wants to hire in the community where he ends up.
Munsie hopes to have a new location selected this spring and have Paisano's ready to open by summer.
In his new location, he hopes to add to his signature pizza menu. He also would like to explore having live entertainment on Saturday nights.
Until then, however, Munsie is just enjoying his last days in Genesee Depot, celebrating the eight years he spent in the community. "When I started to realize about the lease, I understood it was business," Munsie said. "But then I started telling my employees and telling my customers and then it really hit me; I don't know, maybe I'm still in denial. It will hit me Thursday when everyone starts to leave."
E-mail Newsletter
Top stories from the Lake Country area. Tuesday afternoons and Thursday mornings.
Enter your e-mail address above and click "Sign Up Now!" to begin receiving your e-mail newsletter
Get the Newsletter!
MORE: See full gallery
SUBMIT: Post Your Photos now
Do you have news or a nonprofit event that you would like to share with the community? Whether it's a community organization, a business, a local school, or a notable neighbor, we'd love to hear about it.
- Winter Services, Inc. Hires General Manager
- Hamilton students score high in W!SE Financial Literacy Certification
- Lake Country Clean Water Festival Makes a Splash
- Palmyra-Eagle Students Studying Abroad
- Express Employment Professionals Awarded “Best of Staffing”
- First annual Village Extreme to be held June 22, 2013 in Brookfield Village
- Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Annual Picnic
- FREE Week- Basketball Academy
MORE: See the rest of Your Stories
SUBMIT: Post Your Story now
Lake Country residents share their views on news, happenings and current events.
LivingLakeCountry.com features more than a dozen community bloggers - a group of volunteer conversation leaders who are up on the latest topics and never short on an opinion. Just a few are pictured here. Check out the rest and see what they have to say!
View All Blogs
Discussion Guidelines
Do you want to become a Community Blogger? LivingLakeCountry.com welcomes your thoughts and opinions. Contact us for more information:
I want to blog
Information on Mukwonago Publications
Find metroparent locations
We encourage your comments but will strive to remove discussion that contains personal attacks, racial slurs, profanity or other inappropriate material as outlined in our guidelines. We post-moderate comments on most content, but may choose to pre-moderate some comments so please be patient if you don't see yours appear right way. We also ask for your help by reporting comments you think are inappropriate.
Please login or register to post a comment.