Jay and Jennifer Tornetta, owners of Main Street Pizzeria & Grille of Wyncote (109 Greenwood Avenue, Cheltenham Township), have been in the pizza game since 1995.
The married couple started their first Main Street Pizzeria in Norristown, growing their brand over time to six locations. Though a handful of those restaurants are still open, some with different names, the Wyncote location is now the only one under the Tornettas’ thumb.
They relocated to Cheltenham five years ago.
“This area has great restaurants. We go everywhere. We raised our family of three while traveling a hefty commute to those locations,” Jennifer said. “It was interesting, it was fun, and we learned a lot. We’re so blessed to be in this small-knit community. When we moved to Wyncote, it was such a lightbulb for us to be amongst our customers. It’s been a win-win.”
Jay and Jennifer are on-site seven days a week, which they say has provided an opportunity to improve their menu.
“It’s allowed us to be more hands-on. We have an almost scratch kitchen and we travel all over the country for new recipes. We just got back from Italy to research the food over there. We hit up all sorts of pizzerias in Rome. It’s a whole different world,” Jay said, adding that he loves seeing someone wearing one of their t-shirts and hats when he’s out and about.
Main Street Pizzeria is expanding: the restaurant now has a brand-new patio with 35 seats and has applied for an in-house wine license. The Tornettas also do a “Pizza of the Month”: January’s edition is called “Firecracker Shrimp”.
“It’s always something outside of the box. We try to make it fun,” Jennifer said.
“Our staff is awesome. Sam has been with us for 11 years since we started the location. She’s like a daughter. Jorge is a great guy, as is James,” Jennifer said. “That always helps us out a lot.”
For more on Main Street Pizzeria & Grille, you can visit their website and Facebook page.
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Photos: Jen Tornetta