SAN DIEGO — A popular mom-and-pop pizza shop in Kearny Mesa is saying so long to their beloved customers. In this Zevely Zone, I visited a one-of-a-kind husband and wife pizza team that's ready to retire.
I've heard for years, that the only thing warmer than the oven inside Mom & Dom's Pizza is the greeting you receive at the front door.
"Hello, Jeff how are you?" said Gracie who is known as Mom around here and gave me a big hug. In the back, making pizzas was her 86-year-old husband Dom. I asked him if he tosses the dough high in the air.
"I do but my hair gets too gray afterwards, ha, ha," Dom said.
Born in Italy, Dom immigrated to America and joined the Army. "It was a dream of my husband Dominic to always have a restaurant," said Gracie. 18 years ago, that's just what they did with their son Angelo who says pizza brought their family together.
"I get to hear stories and talk to them and Dom's stories and my mom," said Angelo.
The slices are huge, but the smiles from their prized customers are even bigger. "To me, they are family, to me everyone in here is family," said Gracie.
You never know who you'll bump into at Mom & Dom's. We found CBS 8 anchor Steve Price and photojournalist Colleen Murphy eating lunch.
"You cannot do a story on this place because it's going to become very popular and we are going to lose our lunch spot," laughed Steve who was unaware why we were visiting this slice of heaven.
"Dom is 86, while I call him the Ever-Ready Bunny, he's tired in the morning when he gets up," said Gracie. Mom and Dom are saying so long to their pizza shop and grueling 11-hour days.
"Let's be at home. Do what he wants to do, if he wants to go bowling, he just told me the other day I have not been bowling in 30 years," said Gracie.
We'll miss, Mom and Dom, and if you never tasted their legendary pizza? "On a scale from 1 to 10 they are a twenty," said Gracie who says she loves Dom 1000%. "He is the most wonderful person in the world, giving, loving caring, he'll give you the shirt off his back, but he's tired of giving his shirt off his back at the pizza shop, he's tired," said Gracie.
Together, they've made and saved enough dough for a retirement that comes with the works. I asked Dom what he's looking forward to the most. "One thing? Resting!" said Dom. "Thank you for coming to Mom and Dom's," said the couple that's been married for 40 years.
Mom and Dom have sold their business to another pizza maker. The new owner will take over in a few weeks. For more information about Mom & Dom's, click here.