A new pizzeria is serving giant slices from its signature 28-inch pies in downtown State College.
Benny Leone’s opened on Wednesday at 109 S. Fraser St., in the space last occupied by K2 Roots before it moved to South Garner Street.
The restaurant is a franchise location of Virginia-based Benny’s, which was founded in 2011 and is known for the 14-inch long slices cut from a 28-inch diameter pie.
Slices are $5 each, as the restaurant aims to offer a filling portion at a reasonable price.
“[One slice] is about three or four slices from a regular joint,” franchisee Colin Farrell said.
Farrell described Benny’s pizza as “an oversized New York/New Jersey style recipe.” In addition to traditional cheese pizza, the shop will offer several regular toppings like pepperoni, Italian sausage and garlic mushroom at $6 a slice and rotating specialty toppings for $7.
“We try and cook perfect pizzas every time. We try and keep a really good recipe, and we try and provide that at a reasonable price and quick service,” Farrell said.
A whole pie starts at $38, and Benny Leone’s offers a challenge to finish the entire 28-inch pizza in 28 minutes to win $280.
Benny Leone’s is the pizzeria’s third Pennsylvania location, joining restaurants in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Each franchise location takes on a unique surname, and for State College, “Leone” — Italian for “lion” — is a nod to the Penn State Nittany Lion.
Farrell, a Bloomsburg native, said State College seemed like a natural fit, and he was excited to bring it to a strong market close to home.
“It’s just a really great community, really busy,” Farrell said. “Obviously, there’s so much going on here. Whether it’s the students or the families in the area or all of the events that pass through the area, we really serve well to that fast-paced type of lifestyle. So we thought a Benny’s would be great here, especially during the school year when there’s tons of things going on and high volume with football games or whatnot.”
With a colorfully decorated interior and a couple outdoor tables to enjoy a slice on a nice day, the restaurant aims to provide an inviting atmosphere.
“Really the things that we strive to serve other than just a big slice of pizza, we want to have a warm, receptive environment,” Farrell said. “So we really try and keep our staff friendly — people who are sort of more of a mom-and-pop shop type feel where you come in, there are smiling employees, people are chatty and friendly.”
Benny Leone’s and its big slices have already piqued the interest of diners. A few hours after opening, Farrell said business had been brisk.
“We’ve been pretty steady through the lunch period,” he said. “We’ve had pies coming in and out of the oven all day. It’s been a great start considering we haven’t really announced it yet.
We’re still getting our staff training. They’re doing great. It’s been relatively smooth, but not slow.”
Benny Leone’s will be open 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday through Wednesday and 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. Thursday through Saturday. Farrell expects it will be a popular spot for the late-night crowd, whether they need a bite after hours of studying or are capping off a night on the town.
“I normally say drunk pizza is always good, but good drunk pizza is better,” Farrell said with a laugh. “We like to try and perfect our recipe for the people that are both sober and not.”
