The Pizza Oven: Difference between revisions

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==Trivia==
==Trivia==
* The telephone number, 222-8722, was the same in the first advertisement of 1964 and in the review of 1999.
* The telephone number, 222-8722, was the same in the first advertisement of 1964 and in the review of 1999.
* The 1980 Yellow Pages ad — "Since 1963" — offered five sizes "featuring the 18-inch Monster Pizza", thick or thin crust, inside seating or free delivery from 4:30 p.m. seven days a week, chicken, shrimp, fish and seafood dinners or buckets, submarine and meatball sandwiches, and "serving all motels", with separate delivery numbers for the Monona, west and downtown areas and the two stores at 6016 Monona Dr. and 1018 N. Sherman Ave.<ref name="yp-1980-p450">(1980). Madison Yellow Pages, 1980 edition (Wisconsin Telephone Co.), 'Pizza' classification, p. 450: listings Rocky Rococo Pan Style Pizza and Pasta (411 W. Gilman 256-0600, 1618 W. Beltline Hwy. 251-0304, 651 State, 694 S. Whit…. ''Madison telephone directory''. p. 450.</ref>
* Dick Domenget collected soda memorabilia, which decorated the restaurant along with a 1950s jukebox<ref name="ct-1999-10-06-p37" />.
* Dick Domenget collected soda memorabilia, which decorated the restaurant along with a 1950s jukebox<ref name="ct-1999-10-06-p37" />.
* Regular customers included Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and other Milwaukee Bucks, the golfer Andy North, and former governor Lee Sherman Dreyfus<ref name="ct-2004-03-22-p11" />.
* Regular customers included Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and other Milwaukee Bucks, the golfer Andy North, and former governor Lee Sherman Dreyfus<ref name="ct-2004-03-22-p11" />.
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* 5417 Monona Dr.
* 5417 Monona Dr.
* Monona Drive, a couple of doors from 5511 (2004 to November 2014).
* Monona Drive, a couple of doors from 5511 (2004 to November 2014).
* [[1018 North Sherman Avenue|1018 N. Sherman Ave.]] (by November 1978; last found October 1985).
* [[1018 North Sherman Avenue|1018 N. Sherman Ave.]] (by November 1978; listed in 1980<ref name="yp-1980-p449">(1980). Madison Yellow Pages, 1980 edition (Wisconsin Telephone Co.), 'Pizza' classification, p. 449: listings Pizza Oven (6016 Monona Dr. 222-8722; 1018 N. Sherman Ave. 244-0434), Pizza Pit (616 University Ave. 257-5825; Far Eas…. ''Madison telephone directory''. p. 449.</ref>; last found October 1985).
* 2616 Monroe St.
* 2616 Monroe St.
* [[6654 Mineral Point Road|6654 Mineral Point Rd.]] (Pizza Oven West; August 2009 to 2010).
* [[6654 Mineral Point Road|6654 Mineral Point Rd.]] (Pizza Oven West; August 2009 to 2010).

Revision as of 04:37, 24 October 2026

The Pizza Oven was a Monona pizzeria that operated from the early 1960s until December 7, 2019[1], when it was called "Monona's oldest restaurant"[2]. The sources disagree about the year it opened (see below). During those years, it also opened locations on the North and West sides.

History

The Domenget family

The Pizza Oven was run for more than 40 years by the Domenget family, who came from Fond du Lac. Dick Domenget left a job in a paint roller factory there to help his brothers Dennis and Milton run a pizza parlor; "On our first night, we made $16", he said. Their sister Jeanette worked in the business too, as did Dick's wife Judy and their children[3].

The restaurant at 6016 Monona Dr., at the corner of Femrite Drive, began as take-out only, in a rented corner of a building of three stores. In time the family bought the building and turned the other two stores into a dining room[3]. It had inside seating by 1982[4].

The brothers also opened restaurants in Oconomowoc and, in Madison, on Sherman Avenue and Monroe Street. "But it was the restaurant on Monona Drive ... that lasted"[3]. The store at 1018 N. Sherman Ave. is found from November 1978[5] to October 1985[6].

When did it open?

  • The shop at 6016 Monona Dr. opened in the last days of March 1964 under the name "The Pizza Hut"[7], with a grand opening on May 15–17, 1964[8].
  • On September 29, 1966, it advertised "Our new name 'Pizza-Oven', formerly Pizza Hut, under same management"[9].
  • The business counted from 1964 itself: it held a "4th Anniversary Appreciation Sale" in February 1968[10] and advertised "Our 25th Year!" in February 1988[11].
  • The restaurant's own 1995 Yellow Pages ad said "Celebrating Our 33rd Year!", which puts the start in 1962; it then delivered its whole menu, sold pizza in five sizes including an 18-inch "Monster Pizza", and had a "'50s' dining room"[12].
  • Later newspaper accounts give earlier dates: 1962[3] or 1961[2][13].

The Monona shop was not part of the Pizza Hut chain. The chain's first Madison restaurant, at 2405 S. Park St., opened in January 1968[14], more than a year after the Monona shop had given up the name. Why the name was changed has not been found.

Closing of the original restaurant

In 1999 the City of Monona decided to redevelop the corner, and eventually bought the land. After what the newspaper called years of legal wrangling, the original restaurant closed on April 30, 2004, to make way for condominiums and shops. Dick Domenget had by then sold the business[3].

Greg Ewelt

Greg Ewelt reopened The Pizza Oven in a new place on Monona Drive in 2004[15]. Dick Domenget and his son Dean were to make the pizzas there for the first weeks: "We're the only ones who know the recipe"[3]. Ewelt took a partner, Al Darkow, about 2008[16].

In August 2009 they opened Pizza Oven West at 6654 Mineral Point Rd., in a former Hooters: a sports bar with an arcade and a pizza buffet[13]. Ewelt later sold it to its managers, who closed it[2]. Dahmen’s Pizza followed at the same address in 2010.

The restaurant was at 5417 Monona Dr. in October 2012[17]. In late November 2014 it moved "a couple doors down" into the former Village Pedaler, a newly renovated corner space the newspaper gave as 5510 Monona Dr., and added a sports bar called the Sauce Bar, named for the fresh pizza sauce. There were four rooms: dining room, banquet room, sports bar and a children's game room. "In Monona for 53 years", Ewelt had then owned the business 11 years[16]. It closed on Saturday, December 7, 2019, and the business was offered for sale at $150,000[2]. In March 2020 Patrick DePula signed a lease to open Salvatore's Tomato Pies in the space[15].

Pizza

  • "Over 100 combinations" in three sizes, the opening advertisement promised[7].
  • A 1999 reviewer described "good pizza with a thin, crisp crust", in five sizes from 10 to 18 inches[18]. In 1982 the 18-inch was advertised as "Madison's Largest"[4].
  • The shop also sold "Dixie Style Chicken" in 1966[9], and fried fish, chicken and shrimp dinners in 1999[18].

Trivia

  • The telephone number, 222-8722, was the same in the first advertisement of 1964 and in the review of 1999.
  • The 1980 Yellow Pages ad — "Since 1963" — offered five sizes "featuring the 18-inch Monster Pizza", thick or thin crust, inside seating or free delivery from 4:30 p.m. seven days a week, chicken, shrimp, fish and seafood dinners or buckets, submarine and meatball sandwiches, and "serving all motels", with separate delivery numbers for the Monona, west and downtown areas and the two stores at 6016 Monona Dr. and 1018 N. Sherman Ave.[19]
  • Dick Domenget collected soda memorabilia, which decorated the restaurant along with a 1950s jukebox[18].
  • Regular customers included Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and other Milwaukee Bucks, the golfer Andy North, and former governor Lee Sherman Dreyfus[3].
  • The restaurant stayed open through the ice storm of 1976 and "every blizzard"[3].
  • A would-be robber was thwarted there in May 1990[20].
  • Franchises of The Pizza Oven opened near La Crosse, at Holmen in April 2014 and at West Salem on March 21, 2016[21].

Locations

  • 6016 Monona Dr. (March 1964 to April 30, 2004).
  • 5511 Monona Dr. (last location; late November 2014 to December 7, 2019). One article gives the number as 5510[16].
  • 5417 Monona Dr.
  • Monona Drive, a couple of doors from 5511 (2004 to November 2014).
  • 1018 N. Sherman Ave. (by November 1978; listed in 1980[22]; last found October 1985).
  • 2616 Monroe St.
  • 6654 Mineral Point Rd. (Pizza Oven West; August 2009 to 2010).

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Kalk Derby, S. (2020, January 5). "Monona's Pizza Oven and Sauce Bar closes." Wisconsin State Journal. E4.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Kalk Derby, S. (2019, December 12). "Monona's Pizza Oven and Sauce Bar closes." madison.com.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Lipton, E. F. (2004, March 22). Regulars mourn coming changes to Monona's Pizza Oven. The Capital Times. p. 11–12. Newspapers.com images 529174961, 529174972.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 (1982, September 29). "Valuable Coupon: Free Pizza (Pizza Oven)." The Capital Times. p. 64. Newspapers.com images 520961061, 402579303.
  5. ↑ (1978, November 27). Help-wanted advertisement, Pizza Oven, 1018 Sherman Ave. Wisconsin State Journal. p. 27. Newspapers.com image 396372866.
  6. ↑ (1985, October 6). Dining guide listing Pizza Oven and Pizza Pit. Wisconsin State Journal. p. 138. Newspapers.com image 401397486.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 (1964, March 28). "Now Open: The Pizza Hut." Wisconsin State Journal. p. 14. Newspapers.com images 400701303, 519526000.
  8. ↑ (1964, May 15). "Grand Opening! The Pizza Hut." Wisconsin State Journal. p. 30. Newspapers.com images 401063899, 520818150.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 (1966, September 29). "Our new name "Pizza-Oven", formerly Pizza Hut." The Capital Times. p. 40. Newspapers.com images 519582920, 401993375.
  10. ↑ (1968, February 23). "The Pizza Oven announces our 4th Anniversary Appreciation Sale!" Wisconsin State Journal. p. 28. Newspapers.com images 404577106, 518735208.
  11. ↑ (1988, February 7). Help-wanted advertisements, Mama D's Pizza (1018 N. Sherman Ave.) and The Pizza Oven (6016 Monona Dr.). Wisconsin State Journal. p. 42. Newspapers.com image 401499623.
  12. ↑ (1995). Ameritech PagesPlus Yellow Pages, Madison, 1995 edition, 'Pizza' classification, p. 641: display ads — Gumby's Pizza, 2433 University Av. (fast free delivery Sun–Wed 11–2 a.m., Thu–Sat 11–3:30 a.m.; wholewheat crust and e…. Madison telephone directory. p. 641.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Martell, C. (2010, January 24). "Pizza, arcade make this a good choice for families." madison.com.
  14. ↑ (1967, December 31). "Pizza Hut to Open Here About Jan. 15." Wisconsin State Journal. p. 22. Newspapers.com image 404707683.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Kalk Derby, S. (2020, March 3). "Salvatore's Tomato Pies to open in former Pizza Oven in Monona." madison.com.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Kalk Derby, S. (2014, December 3). "Restaurant News: Pizza Oven moves a couple of doors down, adds Sauce Bar." madison.com.
  17. ↑ (2012, October 18). Monona Public Library trivia night at The Pizza Oven, 5417 Monona Drive. The Capital Times. p. 25. Newspapers.com image 520746086.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Foster, K. (1999, October 6). "East side Pizza Oven a tasty nostalgia trip." The Capital Times. p. 37. Newspapers.com image 522182907.
  19. ↑ (1980). Madison Yellow Pages, 1980 edition (Wisconsin Telephone Co.), 'Pizza' classification, p. 450: listings Rocky Rococo Pan Style Pizza and Pasta (411 W. Gilman 256-0600, 1618 W. Beltline Hwy. 251-0304, 651 State, 694 S. Whit…. Madison telephone directory. p. 450.
  20. ↑ (1990, May 31). "Police Blotter: Robber stymied." Wisconsin State Journal. p. 2. Newspapers.com image 405348426.
  21. ↑ Cahalan, S. (2016, April 3). "Steve Cahalan: The Pizza Oven adds West Salem location." madison.com.
  22. ↑ (1980). Madison Yellow Pages, 1980 edition (Wisconsin Telephone Co.), 'Pizza' classification, p. 449: listings Pizza Oven (6016 Monona Dr. 222-8722; 1018 N. Sherman Ave. 244-0434), Pizza Pit (616 University Ave. 257-5825; Far Eas…. Madison telephone directory. p. 449.
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