Venezia's Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria — Restaurant in Ellwood City

My wife and I went to Venezia’s for lunch. It is a wonderful place! The pizza, stromboli, and salad were exceptional however, my reason for visiting this restaurant was not because of the food.

I spent 31 years in the United States Navy, serving several tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan. During one of these tours, the unit I was with received correspondence (letters and colored pictures) from a kindergarten class. To show my appreciation for their gestures and support, I ALWAYS try to personally thank the organization or person that sacrificed their time to recognize our efforts abroad. In this case, I met the teacher of this class at her restaurant, Venezia’s. Upon thanking her, she asked me if I would be interested in reading a book to her class, which I gladly accepted. It was a wonderful experience to say the least.

With an overall rating of 4.7, I did read a few of the reviews others had submitted prior to writing this. I came across two reviews below four, which was a one authored by Lewis Gordon. Mr. Gordon wrote, “I will refuse to purchase any more from this establishment since they support an insurrectionist, multiple indicted con man”, the other from Real J who wrote, “Highly overrated…best pizza in the world? I doubt even top 50 in just Pennsylvania”

Of my 20 plus deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, a few of my goals which motivated me were; take care of my teammate, make sure all of us came home safely, and to protect the rights of our citizen’s.

Specifically regarding The First Amendment, Mr. J’s comment regarding where this restaurant is ranked within the great state of Pennsylvania, is absolutely acceptable. It is his opinion, although I may disagree, his comment/s are his comments and are specifically related to the restaurant.

However, I THINK that Mr. Gordon’s statement regarding insurrectionism is unacceptable. Statements like this should be fact based.

With the actions of the owner taking time to send ‘The Troops’ correspondence, recognizing Red Friday (R.E.D), and coordinating a welcome home with a service member and their child. I am CERTAIN this establishment does not support, nor are they part of ANY insurrectionism movement.

This is MY OPINION. I fought for more than 20 years so Mr. Gordon could write whatever he likes however, it would be nice if some people would take a look at what their accusations are prior to hitting the send button.

God...

I used to love visiting this restaurant; it was a hidden gem that always provided a great dining experience. Unfortunately, over the past few years, it seems to have lost its way. The hours of operation have become increasingly erratic, and it’s disheartening to plan a visit only to find them closed upon arrival.

On my latest visit, I drove a full 45 minutes out of my way, eagerly anticipating a great meal, only to find the dining room shuttered. This kind of inconsistency is really frustrating, especially when you’re trying to support a small business. It’s becoming difficult to justify making the trip when you never know if they’ll even be open or if there will be some other issue.

Small businesses have their quirks, and I understand the challenges they face. However, it’s becoming a real hurdle to keep coming back when it feels like you’re rolling the dice every time. I hope they can find a way to stabilize their hours and provide the dependable service that once made them so appealing. Until then, I'll have to think twice before making the...

The food here is incredibly tasty and the (they only take cash or check!) staff are all very nice. Me and my fiancé got the pizza, garlic bread, and the manicotti (it comes with a salad, which I chose to put Italian dressing on.) we also had cannolis which were AMAZING I loved them so much they weren’t too sweet which I personally love. All of that together was about 50$ but we got a lot of food (the pizza was huge) The service is great, they’re right to the point, quick and efficient. The only reason why i chose to give atmosphere 4 stars is because it is incredibly quiet, which I find awkward personality. I think it just needs some music...