May 26, 2023
Handout Art/For PhillyVoice
Chef Marc Vetri drew inspiration from his childhood and his father, Salvatore, for his new restaurant, Pizzeria Salvy, which opens Wednesday in the Comcast Technology Center in Center City.
Pizzeria Salvy, the new Marc Vetri restaurant set to open Wednesday in the Comcast Technology Center, features a menu inspired by the chef's childhood and his father Salvatore's heavy influence on his culinary career.
The pizzeria offers a selection of 10-inch pies, Philly-style slices, seasonal vegetables, salads and, of course, Sal's signature meatballs. For those with a sweet tooth, the restaurant also serves gelato and other Italian treats made by pastry chef Michael Shelkowitz.
Wine, beer and a small selection of signature cocktails, including a Sicilian margarita made with mezcal tequila, Italicus liqueur, lemon and Urfa salt, are available, too.
The restaurant's open kitchen is centered by a pizza oven imported from Italy. The green-tiled oven, built over five days, is used to create specialty pizzas from a dough recipe that Vetri's team has been developing for much of his career.
For Vetri, the acclaimed chef behind Center City's Vetri Cucina, Pizzeria Salvy represents a return to the pizza-making business after a years-long hiatus.
"My father has been at the center of everything when it comes to my restaurant career — from the meatballs to the family meals he has made for the last 25 years, it's only fitting that we dedicate this project to him," Vetri said in an emailed news release. "Pizzeria Salvy is my father's Philadelphia story. It's a story of persistence and perseverance. It's a story of my childhood, and all the flavors and experiences I remember."
When Vetri revealed his plans for Pizzeria Salvy in January, he described the restaurant as the culmination of 35 years of making pizza, from his days learning the basics in Italy to implementing those lessons at his restaurants in Philadelphia, including the Pizzeria Vetri chain, which he sold in 2015.
Earlier this month, Vetri previewed Pizzeria Salvy's menu by hosting several "Salvy Slice" pop-ups in Center City. He quickly sold out slices of his margherita, zucchini and genoa salami pizza as well as meatballs with whipped ricotta cheese.
Jeff Benjamin, Vetri's longtime business partner, is collaborating with him on the new pizzeria, and his father is serve his signature meatballs. Sal Vetri previously worked as a prep cook at the Pizzeria Vetri shop in Center City and at the former Amis Trattoria restaurant in Washington Square West.
Vetri's latest foray into the pizza business comes about eight years after he sold most of his restaurants, including the Pizzeria Vetri brand, to URBN, the company that owns Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie and Free People. He and Benjamin took executive positions at the company as part of the sale, though Benjamin left in 2016 and Vetri parted ways a year later.
Pizzeria Vetri has locations in Fairmount, Rittenhouse, Devon and King of Prussia. URBN also controls several other Vetri-founded restaurants, including Osteria and the remaining Amis Trattoria locations. Vetri kept his flagship restaurant, Vetri Cucina.
Last summer, Vetri opened Fiore Rosso, an Italian steakhouse, in Bryn Mawr. His decision to open a restaurant in the Philly suburbs was partly a response to the city's pandemic response. Vetri was an outspoken critic of the stringent restrictions placed on the restaurant industry in 2020 and 2021.
Pizzeria Salvy is located on the concourse of the Comcast Technology Center, 1800 Arch St. It will be open Tuesdays through Fridays for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and for dinner from 4 to 9 p.m. Tables can be reserved on Tock.
