Generations of loyals belly up to the busy counter at no-frills Mamma Lucia Pizza on Wood Street.

"I know most of my customers. Their grandfathers ate here," says owner Behrooz "Bruce" Rahimzadeh, a pizzamaster of Persian descent who serves about 220 folks per day.

Many drop by his Downtown mecca for a hearty slice -- or two -- of Mamma Lucia Pizza's thick, crunchy and square-cut pizza ($1.65 per slice, plus, 25 cents per topping). Also available are triangle-shaped slices of thin-crust pizza (also $1.65 per slice; plus, 25 cents per topping).

"The Sicilian pizza is so good, and it's filling," says regular customer Amy O'Shea McCullough of the Meyer Darragh Buckler Bebenek law firm in the U.S. Steel Tower.

Popular, too, are toasted half or whole hoagies ($2.80 to $8), plus, the homemade lasagna ($3), served each Wednesday, and the spaghetti served with two meatballs ($3.25) each Thursday. Other daily specials are half-hoagies made with meatballs (Monday), sausage (Tuesday), and breaded cod (Friday), priced $2.75 to $5.50.

Mamma Lucia Pizza also offers calzones ($5.75), sausage rolls ($5.75), lamb, chicken or steak gyros ($3.50), chef, steak and chicken salads ($5.50 to $6), french fries ($1.75), onion rings ($1.80), fried mushrooms ($1.80), chicken fingers ($4.25) and chicken wing dings ($3.50). Free delivery is available on $5-plus orders within walking distance of the restaurant.

"This is a great place to eat, and it doesn't cost you a lot," says Teresa Rutherford, 20, a student at the Downtown Bridge of Pittsburgh school, and a big fan of Mamma Lucia Pizza's popular chicken wings.

Other regular lunchtime customers include Downtown workers Mansoreh Rahimzadeh, 29, and Kavon Rahimzadeh, 24, two of Behrooz and Sandy Rahimzadeh's five, college-educated children -- all past or present Mamma Lucia Pizza employees. Daughter Farrah, 22, still works at the restaurant, along with nephew Tony DiPaolo.

Customers generally place their orders at the rear of the restaurant, then seat themselves at storefront booths. Quieter, upstairs seating also is available.

Architect Bob Russ of MCF Architects, Downtown, says, "I'm always here for the Wednesday lasagna special -- there's not a lot of cheese, which I like, and the garlic bread is delicious."

Rahimzadeh, a one-time computer programming student, first learned to make pizza from his Colombian college roommate at California University of Pennsylvania. Rahimzadeh eventually bought Mamma Lucia Pizza more than 30 years ago after working for the original owners of Mama Lucia Pizza in North Hills Village, Ross.

He still uses the original owners' recipes. "We make our own lasagna from scratch," he says. "The (pizza) dough is made fresh daily. I've been using the same dough machine for over 30 years."

Additional Information:

Mamma Lucia Pizza

Location: 433 Wood St., Downtown

Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays; and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays

Details: 412-281-0416 or website

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