Business Profile: Old Skool Pizza, Cortlandt
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Buchannan residents Michael and Jenn Saladino explained why they named their new business Old Skool Pizza.
“In the Urban Dictionary the definition of Old Skool is old but cool when you spell it with a k,” Ms. Saladino said last week, adding, “It’s like a nice twist on his pizza recipe which is based on a nostalgia that he has.”
“I use a starter or mother dough. So, I actually have a starter that is six or seven years old,” Mr. Saladino said. “It’s manly risen from a natural starter. So, it’s got a bit of a sourdough flavor to it. So, the crust has its own flavor, its own texture.”
“This is the original way that pizza dough was made versus now. People sort of make it in one day. It doesn’t have time to rise,” Ms. Saladino said. “Because he uses the natural starter the curst itself gets a lot more flavor because he lets it rise for at least two days.”
“The longer the dough gets to rise the more texture the dough gets, the more flavor it gets from the fermentation,” Mr. Saladino said.
The Old Skool pizza dough becomes “light and airy with a nice crisp edge,” Ms. Saladino said. Many customers have told the Saladinos that they serve the pizza “like I used to get,” she said.
Old Skool Pizza, which opened about a month ago in the Cortlandt Town Center, is the first business the Saladinos have owned. “I’ve been a pizza nerd for years and years and have always wanted to do it,” Mr. Saladino said. “I worked in the entertainment industry. I worked as a video editor in television. I did a lot of work for The History Channel and A& E.” He was an Emmy Award-winning editor, his wife noted.
While working in the television industry for many years at home, Mr. Saladino used to make pizzas, he said. “I spent years and years in our kitchen at home” coming up with his own sauces and doughs, Mr. Saladino said.
With the backing of his wife, Mr. Saladino decided to open his own pizzeria. “I believed in the product,” Ms. Saladino said.
Family members cook in and run the new eatery, Mr. Saladino said. Mr. Saladino said among the most popular pizzas are the white pies. The white pizza features ricotta, mozzarella and Pecorino cheeses as well as caramelized onions, Ms. Saladino said, “It’s not a traditional white pizza,” she said.
Mr. Saladino said Sicilian is another popular pizza. “It’s a very light, airy Sicilian. It’s not super dense,” he said, adding the pie is cooked three times to allow more moisture to leave the dough.
Mr. Saladino said his favorite slice is the traditional, which can be topped with fresh basil.
Aside from pizza some of the other food options include chicken wings, wedges and calzones.
“We’re trying to stay away from too many dishes because we want to stay as fresh as we can,”
Mr. Saladino said. “We don’t consider ourselves an Italian restaurant. We’re more of a pizzeria. It’s pizza first and foremost.”
Old Skool Pizza is located in the Cortlandt Town Center at 3121 E. Main St. (Route 6) in Cortlandt. For more information call 914-743-1811or visit https://www.oldskoolpizza.com/menu-old-skool-pizza. The business is also on Facebook and Instagram.
