By William Crooks
Today I’ll do something a little bit different at first and reminisce. Pizzaville, a Lennoxville landmark, holds a special place in my heart. During my undergrad I used to spend hours and hours there in deep philosophical discussion and the bottomless coffee kept coming. Some of the younger readers of The Record may be surprised to know that Pizzaville used to not only serve breakfast all day, but be open 24/7. 20 years ago, when the Lion and the Maysen, a pub housed at the time just above Pizzaville on its building’s second floor, used to close at 3 a.m., many of their clientele used to flood into Pizzaville for a late-night meal. Naturally, many were inebriated and caused trouble; in response, Pizzaville used to switch over to plastic cups at night, since so many glasses were being broken. Eventually, a cost/benefit analysis was made and Pizzaville decided to close up at night instead. This, my dear readers, is an example of the utility of the expression ‘this is why we can’t have nice things’…
It was partly cloudy and not raining (yet), so I considered myself lucky as I drove from The Record office to Pizzaville to meet some other Good Eggs for breakfast. Many years ago, I have heard, this building used to shelter a KFC. Upon taking the picture of the outside of the restaurant for this article, I was struck again by Pizzaville’s famous sign with its characteristic lights. It, along with Pizzeria Jerry’s sign, led people to affectionately call Lennoxville ‘Lennoxvegas’. Is that still a thing? I arrived first and was seated promptly near the back at a table for six. My fellow dining-mates soon joined me; we were five in total today. Asking the others for ideas on how to characterize the place’s interior in a few words, I received the responses “rustic” and “classic”. I don’t think these are right, but it’s very hard for me to remain objective with Pizzaville. It is what it is. It wasn’t very busy and can seat 75+ at full capacity. Pop hits play on the radio at a tasteful volume as a soundtrack to your meal.
