We tried the new Deorio’s restaurant in Columbus on opening day. Here’s what it was like
Friday was a day of nostalgia and memories for some Columbus residents as Deorio’s reopened its doors in a new location on Auburn Avenue in Columbus.
The doors consistently were chiming as eager customers waited for a table. Families with children and old Deorio’s customers were smiling as they walked through the door. Some hugged employees from the old Deorio’s.
Having woken up feeling slightly under the weather, I definitely needed something to perk up my day, and Deorio’s did the trick. Accompanying me was the wonderful Kala Hunter, my favorite vegetarian.
A vegetarian and a meat eater walking into a pizza place may sound like the start of a bad joke, but what wasn’t a joke was the size of the crowd that showed up to the restaurant.
When I arrived around noon I was thankful to grab the last spot available in the parking lot. After a brief wait, we were seated and trying to figure out what to order. We decided to share the Italian chef salad and the Deorio’s Deluxe pizza.
The Italian chef salad featured a mix of pickled Italian vegetables, ham, salami, pepperoni, pepperoncini and cheese. When we asked colleague Mike Haskey what we should try, he recommended Deorio’s famous Italian vinaigrette. Kala poured the dressing atop the salad, and it was everything Mike had described to us. Kala thought the vinaigrette gave a unique spicy sensation that added a zing to the salad.
Being the carnivore between the two of us, I took it as my duty to eat all meat involved in the salad, leaving the veggies free for Kala.
The pizza would come out soon and leave us both full — so much so, I had to get a to-go box for once. Deorio’s deluxe pizza came loaded with red sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, Italian sausage, ham, mushrooms, onions, green bell peppers and black olives.
Though the waft of pizza fumes hasn’t quite clouded the new restaurant yet, many customers were happy with the taste and atmosphere.
The sauce on the pizza tasted great. The Italian sausage was very flavorful. The pepperonis were amazing and added just the right amount of saltiness. Paired with the fresh flavor of the peppers, onions, mushrooms and black olives, it created a wonderful burst of flavors.
The restaurant is open Tuesdays through Sundays from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and closed Mondays.
Community reactions
Claire Alexander Gray told of the fond memories she had from Deorio’s prior to its closure in 2017. She wrote on Facebook, “My mother used to walk to Deorio’s after school in the early 60’s (she was an 8th grader at Richard’s Jr High). My first memory of eating at Deorio’s was when I was 3 or 4 years old ((1970/71). I had to sit in a booster seat!”
Gray said her family ate only Deorio’s pizza and often would meet at Deorio’s for dinner. She said, on one visit with her mom and little brother, the restaurant staff took their picture and put it up on the wall. It remained there for decades.
She ended her comment with, “Deorio’s was part of the fabric of my life, and I have so very many cherished memories from that wonderful, little pizza place.”
