Alexia's does it the old-fashioned way; South Windsor place is home to the 5-pound pizza

Tim Leininger, Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
·5 min read

Mar. 4—SOUTH WINDSOR — Many restaurant owners tout about how they are a family business, or that that the people who work there are like family, but for Alexia's Pizza and Restaurant at 950 Sullivan Ave., the words are more than pleasantries.

Every employee at Alexia's is family, literally, and for almost 27 years, they have been making Greek-style pizza for the community.

The patriarch of Alexia's Pizza is Bobby Mouttas. The restaurant is named after his daughter Alexandra, or Alexa for short. Bobby's father, Solon, recently retired from the family business, he said, but still comes around to help out from time to time.

Alexia's Pizza

WHERE: 950 Sullivan Ave., South Windsor

HOURS: Monday-Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday: noon-9 p.m. Take-out only. Last orders must be called in by 8:30 p.m.

MENU: Pizza, grinders, pasta, chicken parm, veal parm

CONTACT: alexiaspizza.com; 860-648-1553

"My dad was a big part of this place," Bobby Mouttas said. "He's been with us the whole time."

Along with Bobby, his wife, Susan; daughters, Alexa and Ariana; and sister Ann Mouttas Williams all work at Alexia's.

"It's all of us," Bobby said. "My daughters have jumped into the fray while going to school. It makes me very proud. I'm proud of the girls, teaching them the work ethic and they just took over.

"We like the town," Bobby said. "It's a nice town. Our customers, we know their orders offhand and they're comfortable coming here. We know what they like, and it makes it easier."

"We have many kids here who grew up with our food and now they bring their children," said Ann.

That customer loyalty has helped keep Alexia's Pizza running for the past year, especially since they currently do not offer indoor dining because of the small space available in the restaurant.

"We're doing OK," Bobby said. "We get a lot of support here."

"We get a lot of love from our customers," Ann said.

"We lose a little bit from customers not being able to dine in, but we're not going to sacrifice our health and everybody else's health for that," Bobby added.

Susan explained that the staff doesn't go anywhere after work and that customers feel safe knowing there is so little risk from the coronavirus.

Unfortunately, due to increases in product costs over the past year, Bobby said, they had to raise prices on the menu for the first time in 10 years.

"We had been holding off as long as we could, but finally we had to because everything is up," he said. "Roast beef, I'm paying $2 a pound more than I paid last year."

To help families, they have created a family meal menu that is made to order.

Susan said to call at least an hour ahead of time to place a family order.

Alexa said the menu items include family-sized spaghetti or ziti with meatballs, an extra-large pizza, and cheese or meat ravioli. All three items come with a large, tossed salad and garlic bread for $25.

Bobby said the restaurant makes its own meatballs, eggplant parmesan, sauces, and other foods.

"I cook a top round once or twice a week here," he said. "We shred cheese the old-fashioned way. We do a lot of things the old-fashioned way. We don't buy shredded mozzarella. We do it the hard way, but it works."

The cornerstone of Alexia's Pizza is their Greek-style pizza — not too thick and not too thin — a medium crust pan pizza, Bobby said.

What makes their pizza unique, he said, is the number of toppings.

"They're loaded," he said. "You get our house special. It's 18 inches and weighs about 5 pounds easily."

Susan said the 18-inch house special is so popular that the customers have nicknamed it "The 5-pound pizza."

Along with popular pizzas such as pepperoni and cheese, newer pizzas on the menu have been growing in sales, including the buffalo chicken, sausage and peppers, meat lovers, and Hawaiian, Bobby said.

Another deal, Bobby said, is the 6-inch grinder of any type with a cup of soup or a bag of chips and a soda for $8.95.

There are also specials that are not on the menu, which change monthly. Once the pandemic ends, menu items will return to a weekly rotation, Bobby said.

Each family member has their own favorite menu item.

"The chicken parm," said Ann. "You get pasta with it and it comes with the salad and bread."

"I love the pizza," Bobby said. "I love the house special pizza."

"I love the chicken cutlet grinder," Alexa said. "Our chicken is so good. It's kind of like fried chicken on a grinder."

"The veal parm," Susan said. "It's real veal. The grinder or the dinner, it's my go to."

"My favorite is the fried mozzarella," Ariana said. "He makes them himself."

Bobby said Alexia's success is due to them doing things the right way and always being there.

"It comes from ourselves," he said. "I wouldn't give somebody something I wouldn't eat. It makes you feel good and they keep coming back.

"That's the pride you take in. They know your first name. That's what it's all about."

For coverage of local restaurants, cultural events, music, and an extensive range of Connecticut theater reviews, follow Tim Leininger on Twitter: @Tim_E_Leininger, Facebook: Tim Leininger's Journal Inquirer News page, and Instagram: @One_Mans_Opinion77.