Peter's grandfather was an entrepreneur. More specifically he sold
pizza
. Peter was named after his grandpa. They called him the Peter Pizza. The business' name was Pizza City. It sold Chicago and New York styled pizza available in the middle of nowhere. If you lived in that small town you couldn't find pizza that good except at Pizza City. It wasn't actually New York or Chicago styled. It was Peter's recipe. But he had a knack for marketing so decided to brand it as Chicago and New York instead.
One time a man named Mario Spanelli came in excited for a New York pizza. He had been away from Brooklyn for years and was looking forward to finally having his home dish that he grew up on. Spanelli looked down at the offerings and made a face. This isn't New York styled, he said.
The kid behind the counter didn't know any better. Said it was.
Look, prick. I'm from Brooklyn. You think I don't know what New York styled pizza looks like?
The kid didn't know what to say. The guy did sound like he had a genuine Brooklyn accent.
Spanelli was pissed. A mockery that this piece of shit business was making out of his favorite dish. Pizza City? Who the hell named their business as XYZ-City anyway? He looked over at the Chicago pizza. He was unfamiliar with the style, but given how these idiots botched the New York dish he could only assume that the Chicago style was not Chicago at all.
Look, just grab me two slices of the sausage, onion, bacon alright?
New York or Chicago?
Don't call it New York.
Sorry. Thin slice then?
Yeah. Thin.
He sat down with a cold coke. Drank it alongside the oily pizza. The cheese was good. The sauce better. This was different than his childhood memories of eating Mama Rose's pizza. No matter how hot those Brooklyn summers were she would still have a hot steaming slice for him. Or down the corner at Jimmy's pizzaria. This was pizza was nothing like he tasted before. Damn he loved it. He went and ordered a third slice. This time a ham and bacon.
He washed it down with another ice cold coke. Then he sat there for a moment. Staring out into the sweltering afternoon. He was planning on returning to Pizza City on his trip back. He'd make sure to have an empty stomach so that he could get a good fill.
Spanelli took a business card and thanked the kid.
Hey look. Sorry about the attitude before. This was great. Let your boss know a real New Yorker appreciated okay, kid?
The kid stared at him nervous while nodding his head. He could feel his armpits becoming sticky.