One of our newest restaurants in town, Vincitori Apizza, has quickly become a favorite for those looking for delicious pizza made with fresh ingredients and delivered with friendly service. Here you’ll find pizza made with a thinner-crust sourdough which differs from most of the area pizza restaurants. It’s a typical Apizza (AH-BEETZ) style that you would more easily find in the New Haven area.
Owner Norman Birk grew up in Saunders Point and still calls Niantic home. He founded Birk Manufacturing, Inc. in East Lyme that makes high-end medical, semiconductor and aerospace components. Norm always wanted to own a Pizza restaurant and made his dream a reality when he opened Vincitori Apizza on Main Street in the summer of 2019.
Curious about how the establishment got its name? When Norm’s daughter Lilly was little, he asked her what she would call a pizza restaurant. She said “winners” because you go for pizza after you win a soccer game. Vincitori means “winners” in Italian! Today, Lilly maintains the restaurant’s website. She also worked in the restaurant during their first year and designed the tomato logo.
Vincitori is in fact a family affair. Carleton, Norm’s oldest son, oversees financials and account management. Noah, Norm’s other son, works in the restaurant and can often be seen manning the pizza oven. Joe Choquette is the Chef and General Manager, and his wife Annie helps with their social media accounts.
The team at Vincitori’s loves to prepare exceptional food made with the finest quality ingredients. Joe says, “We want our customers to have a feel-good experience from the moment they step inside our door to the moment they depart with a pleasantly full stomach!”
Vincitori’s naturally leavened dough is chewy and slightly crisp. They use the best California-grown San Marzano tomatoes in their sauce, and they hand-stretch their fresh mozzarella in-house. Each pie is topped with a blend of parmesan and pecorino cheese and a garlic extra virgin olive oil. They source the finest ingredients, whether they’re local or imported to ensure each pie is a “winner.”
In addition to traditional and specialty pizzas, their menu features appetizers and fresh salads. Be sure to try Norm’s award-winning seafood chowder. His secret recipe is loaded with scallops, shrimp, lobster and clams!
Since the Covid pandemic became a reality last spring, Vincitori shifted from indoor dining to take-out and curbside only. They added an online menu to make ordering seamless and contactless. They recently added a delivery option by partnering with Shoreline Menus. When placing your order, you can also purchase wine or beer to enjoy with your pizza. Looking for something sweet to round out your meal? Order yourself a chewy, over-sized fresh-baked chocolate chip cookie.
Vincitori feels fortunate to have generous and loyal patrons who have continued to visit them regularly throughout the pandemic. They love being a part of our tight-knit community. Annie says, “The unique thing about Niantic is that all of the businesses support each other and cheer each other on.” In the fall, Vincitori was happy to partner with the Niantic Public House and Brewery when they learned they would be required to provide food for patrons. It’s so heartwarming to hear stories like this over and over again of our local business owners stepping up without hesitation to support each other.
Vincitori looks forward to re-opening their dining room soon and hearing the laughter of their customers once again. As the weather warms up, they hope to expand their hours.
Vincitori Apizza is participating in Niantic and East Lyme Restaurant Week, extended this year to ten days, March 4 – 14. They’ll be offering a free cheese pizza with a purchase of $30 or more. They are happy to be a part of this event which will help to support all restaurants in town. It’s been a tough year for these businesses. Please support them. It will help them to keep their doors open. And they’ll be so grateful.
Follow Vincitori on Facebook and Instagram to stay on top of their news and special offerings. They have rotating specialty pies that change every few weeks.
Visit their website at vincitoriapizza.com to see their full menu and order online.
Vincitori Apizza
294 Main Street, Niantic
vincitoriapizza.com
860-739-3136
Hours:
Wednesday-Friday: 4-8pm
Saturday and Sunday: 12noon to 8pm
About Our Main Street Blogger:
Joanne lives in, and loves, our community. She was looking for an opportunity to help share all that our local businesses do to make East Lyme such a special place to call home, and she is excited to contribute to our blog. Joanne brings to the role her experience from New London Main Street where she contributed content to their website, newsletters and email communications for many years.