Pizza Roma in Sewickley closes its doors for good after 38 years

People who want to own a piece of Sewickley pizza history can do so via an online auction.

Pizza Roma in Sewickley closed its door for good Saturday after 38 years of making pizza and memories.

Its beer taps, tables, plates, coolers, equipment and everything down to framed baseball cards are up for sale through Hostetter Auctioneers.

The online auction at hostetterauctioneers.com ends Wednesday at 6 p.m.

Pizza Roma in Sewickley was founded by Linda and Carl Baltzer in 1984.

Linda Baltzer had been working at the Pizza Roma Restaurant in the North Hills for a few years when she and her husband wanted to branch out on their own.

“Linda had always been interested in having a food business,” said her sister, Pam Yocca. “Linda’s an amazing cook. She loves to nurture people and feed them and make sure they’re having a good time. It came very naturally to her. Carl was also interested in getting into the business. … It seemed like a perfect fit, and it worked out great.”

The dining room was on the first floor of the building, located at the corner of Green and Beaver streets.

A renovation project a few years afterward on the second floor went awry and the building went up in flames.

It was rebuilt and the business expanded with a second-floor dining room and a first-floor bar and seating area.

“They came back stronger than ever and were really a thriving restaurant for many, many years,” Yocca said. “It’s always been pretty much a similar menu. It was pizza, hoagies and a couple of entrees and calzones.”

Yocca also worked at the North Hills pizza place for years before moving to the Silicon Valley in California.

Baltzer’s daughter, Tina DeGolier, took over the family business in 2006, about a year after her father died at age 46.

“Every day was different,” DeGolier said about working with her family. “A lot of good memories. … You have your good days and your bad days.”

About 26 people were employed at one time in the shop’s prime. There was a 25th anniversary party in 2009.

DeGolier said Roma’s traditional pizza was its best seller, and the secret to success was the customers.

“It was nothing we did,” DeGolier said. “It was all them and all their support.”

The pandemic impacted profits and staff shrunk the past few years down to five, including DeGolier and her boyfriend, Eric Grimm.

Linda Baltzer, 63, still worked at the shop on occasion. The family was hoping for one more comeback.

Lack of help and rising costs of everything due to inflation forced the tough choice to close down.

“We are just so exhausted,” DeGolier said. “We worked so hard. We haven’t thought about (what we’re going to do now). We’ll probably take a little bit of a break, and then we’ll get back at it. We’re excited about the new chapter, sad but excited.

“I want to say thank you (to the customers) for 38 wonderful great years. We could have never done any of what we did without (this) wonderful community.”

Grimm said he looks forward to spending more time relaxing with the family instead of working with them.

“I’m not going to miss all the hours and fixing things,” he said. “We’re going to miss the people, definitely.”

The building is owned by the Lombardo family, which founded Pizza Roma in the 1970s with an investment partner. Its flagship is the aforementioned North Hills restaurant.

Dominic Lombardo helped the Baltzers start their Sewickley business.

Dominic’s son, Filippo Lombardo, said it’s heartbreaking to see another family business close.

“It’s hard for independent restaurants right now,” he said. “We completely understand what she’s going though, especially the last few years. It’s really hard for us to see them close down.”

The future of the building is unclear.

Filippo Lombardo said there have been conversations with his family and different investors, but no deals have been made.

“I can’t go into what they are talking about, but we are speaking with a few different people about purchasing the building,” he said.

DeGolier said she has not spoken to anyone about acquiring the location.