http://www.timesunion.com
Marv Cermak

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From bar to pizzeria

Gerard Parisi and Pat Saccocio, partners in a Schenectady law firm, launched a new enterprise not usually associated with barristers.

They opened Four Corners Pizza on Guilderland Avenue, Rotterdam. "A completely different sideline is a nice change of pace for us," Parisi says.

He and Saccocio are Rotterdam town attorneys. When off the legal beat, Parisi also serves as Rotterdam Republican chairman, while Saccocio is a Metroplex board member.

Parisi said the partners enjoy using some spare time hanging out with customers and workers. "We throw the bull a little, help out a bit, but not to worry. Pat and I don't make the pizzas," he said.

As an aside, the pizzeria is in a building that housed a defunct Quizno's Sub Shop. Four Quizno's franchises opened in Schenectady County last year, but an Erie Boulevard outlet is the lone survivor.

I wonder if they got any money from the metroplex to open this pizza store.

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I wonder if they got any money from the metroplex to open this pizza store.

If they did, I'd be shocked since they are not dems!!!

Looks like I just found a plcae to go for lunch today.

I have eaten there. It is pretty good but 'a little pricey' as compared to the others around town. Just my opinion.

http://www.dailygazette.com

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ROTTERDAM
Boyhood dream a tasty reality
Pair enlists friends to open and operate pizza shop
BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Justin Mason at 395-3113 or jmason@dailygazette.net.

   When Town Attorney Girard Parisi and local businessman Dave Tomasek were growing up in Rotterdam, they had two dreams.
   The first was to hit a home run in Little League, and the second was to open a pizza shop.
   Their aspirations on the baseball diamond never came to fruition. But now, with a partnership between Parisi’s law practice partner and Tomasek’s childhood friend, they’re making a go at the second dream.
   Enlisting the help of Pat Sacoccio and the culinary prowess of Joe Drago, the quartet has established 4 Corners Pizza & Italian Eatery off the bustling intersection of Guilderland Avenue and Curry Road.
   The idea started several years ago, when the partners began looking into a location in Schenectady. But before they could close on a building, they got an offer from Ron Isopo, the owner of Isopo’s Thick and Thin, about an opportunity to take over his business.
   In November, they purchased the former Quiznos next door to Isopo’s store and then set to work molding the business to their liking. Parisi said it was the ceaseless work of Drago and Tomasek, the owner of Town Decorators on Guilderland Avenue, that turned the chain restaurant into a casual Italian eatery.
   “I would head home at 11 o’clock and leave them there,” he recalled. “The next day, I’d drive by and they would still be working.”
   Today, Drago works mainly in the kitchen, bringing with him more than 25 years of recipes and experience in the business. The New York-style pizza is handtossed, the soup is prepared daily and the specialty pies reflect some of the epicurean know-how handed down to him by his mother.
   “Everything is hand-made,” Drago said. “The dough, the bread, the sauces, everything.”
   The three other partners help out by taking turns closing the restaurant. Parisi, who is also a certifi ed public accountant, balances the books for the operation.
   “We all take on a little bit of something,” he said.
   Since opening in December, business has been robust at the small eatery, which is starting to amass a following behind Drago’s cooking. As for the other three partners, the business also represents an escape from the daily grind of their primary jobs, Parisi said.
   On Sundays, the business closes an hour early and the partners convene to review the week’s business. Over a glass of wine and a few slices, they balance the books and put the week’s business to rest.
   “For us, this is a lot of fun because it’s a change of pace,” Parisi said. “It’s a nice escape.”

BRUCE SQUIERS/GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER Joe Drago tosses a pizza at Four Corners Pizza in Rotterdam as Dave Tomasek, left, and co-owner Gerard Parisi watch.  

Best of luck to them and I will look forward to stopping by next time I get a pizza.

And some folks think Dominoes is real pizza.....ha ha ha ha ha ha.....

Best of luck to them and might I add that I am a bit jelous that they could make at least part of their childhood dream come true. And the thought that they were childhood friends and yet still remain friends is something you don't see or hear much about anymore.  Good for them!!!

I have to say  that I went to 4 Corners Pizza again last night.  After the first trip I had there was so great, I figured that it was worth driving the extra distance from McDonalds to get some real food.  

Well, I bought 2 things off of the trays that they have there.  I did ask for it to go.  The person who served it to me didn't ask if I wanted it warmed up.  

So, instead of getting 1 thing that I wanted cold (the bottle of soda I bought), I had 3, as I got 2 rolls/calzones whatever they were. Had to go home and microwave my "homecooked meal."  I guess if I had to warm it in the microwave, that does make it homecooked, right?

As for my visit last night? 2 thumbs down for cold food.

I like cold pizza for breakfast.....I like hot pizza for dinner.....

Like I said, I have gotten food there before and would go again, I just thought they were slightly on the pricey side as compared to other pizza places.  Although I am the kind of a person that doesn't mind paying a bit more when I go out to DINNER! I really don't, as long as the food and service are great. But I don't know when it comes to pizza or any fast food place, I just can't justify paying more. Especially when there are a gazillion pizza places in Rotterdam.