What tops a Vinnie pie return?

When Vincent's Pizza Park abruptly shut its doors last May, fans of the extraordinary Vinnie pies grieved over the loss of their greasy goodness.

The six-decade institution in North Braddock appeared to be gone for good, but those who enjoyed the weapons-grade product turned out by the late pizza virtuoso Vincent Chianese can rejoice. After an extensive and expensive building renovation, Chianese's daughter, Toni Zollner, is preparing to fire up the ovens once more.

“We're going to open (June 16),” Zollner said. “I was trying to do it on his birthday, March 2, as a birthday gift to him. But things took a little longer than we expected, so we're doing it instead on Father's Day.”

Chianese was a unique Pittsburgh character who crafted unique pizza that people either loved or loathed. A cigarette typically dangled from his lips while he manufactured pies with a regional reputation for their incredible density and mountainous amounts of toppings; comparing a relatively puny Pizza Hut offering to a Vinnie Pie was like comparing a kayak to an aircraft carrier.

The flagship Vincent's (two others are located in Plum and North Huntingdon) initially carried on after Chianese died in 2010 at 85. But Zollner went to court to have it closed last year after the two men who leased the building from her fell $42,000 behind in royalty payments.

Zollner, 61, a business manager for a Glendale, Calif., high school, took control of the business while taking heat for shuttering it.

“I couldn't really say anything because everything was tied up in court, but there was never any doubt that we were going to reopen,“ she said.

Before that could occur, however, the tired-looking building needed to be updated. Zollner had the interior gutted and said she spent about $200,000 modernizing it with a retro look that might appear familiar to the restaurant's older customers.

“It's identifiable as a Vincent's if you remember the original Vincent's,” she said. “The new neon sign we put up last week is a close replica of his original neon sign he had back in the '50s. Inside, we went back to the original color scheme, but there's still a lounge side and a restaurant side, and people can still look and see the pizza being made.”

Zollner believes her father would be pleased behind the effort to ensure future generations can enjoy what some people reverently refer to as a “sweaty Vinnie's.”

“I think my dad would be thrilled because I'm an only child and he never had the son who would carry on the business,” she said. “He used to tell me the place was a gold mine, but I said even if it was the federal bank I don't think it's something I could do.”

The Pizza Parks will be run by David Miller, who also operates the Plum location, but Zollner and her family intend to fly in from California for the opening day festivities. She wants to personally present this Father's Day gift not just to her late parent, but also to the city where he was a local legend.

“I'm humbled by all the kind and wonderful things people have said about my dad,” she said. “I'm thrilled to bring this place back to Pittsburgh.”

Eric Heyl is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7857 or eheyl@tribweb.com.