The Pizza Oven has been a staple in the Riverdale, Maryland, community since the 1950s — and for his 90th birthday, owner Brian Boileau got a big gift: retirement.
With over 60 years of service under his belt, Boileau is packing up the handmade sauce and dough and closing his doors, but not without one last celebration.
Boileau held a car show outside the restaurant Sunday to commemorate his last day of work and foray into life as a nonagenarian. Regular patrons of The Pizza Oven gathered to give their final goodbyes to the establishment many of them grew up frequenting.
“It’s like a class reunion,” said Maryland resident Harry Lynch, who’s been going to The Pizza Oven since 1962. “Everybody would come here and get pizza, a meatball sub or something like that. Just hanging out.”
Frankie Ibey has been a regular patron of The Pizza Oven since 1996. He said that in all the years he’s been eating there, he’s never had anything on the menu but the pizza.
“I’ve been wanting to try something else,” Ibey said. “Maybe today’s the day, since it’s gonna be the last time I get to try anything here.”
He recalled a time his daughter came with him to the restaurant over a decade ago, when Boileau brought out a giant bag of stuffed animals.
“He had a skill crane but he got rid of it,” Ibey said. “He didn’t have no use for the animals anymore, so he gave them to my daughter.”
Ibey wasn’t the only one with stories to share about Boileau. Many of his regular customers had their own accounts of generosity and kindness the owner and his staff showed over the years.
“It’s nostalgic coming back here,” pizzeria patron Gail Connolly Gobel said. “He’s a great owner and he’s great to his employees, great for the community.”
Boileau said the best part of his job throughout the years has been seeing his customers smile.
“The happiness people brought to me and my family has been absolutely wonderful,” Boileau said. “And to see everybody come in and say goodbye to me before I’m in the ground — it’s nice.”
Those smiles came from far and wide. People traveled from all over the country to try Boileau’s pies; he said one customer would even fly in from Alaska.
“It’s unfortunate that it’s closing,” Ibey said. “But he needs to retire. It’s about time. 90 years old is enough.”
