Danielle Johnson|Ocala Star-Banner
Jacki and Sanford "San"Felder have been together for 41 years, married for 37 and making pizzafor a living for 35at their mom-and-pop Italian restaurant, San’s Pizzeria.
“We’re like ‘Cheers,’”San said, referring to the cozy TV showbar. “You walkin,we say hello.Wesay goodbye. I go out and talk tocustomers when I have a moment to chat with everybody.”
The coupledecided to finish their career when theyclosed their last restaurant in Palm Harbor in August of 2020, but retirement inOcala was short-lived.
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“We found thislocation right down the road and decided we'regoing to go again,” Jacki said of theirnew spotoff of U.S. 27 and west of Interstate 75. “My husband Sanford is very energetic—can't keep him sitting still for fiveminutes—and of course it is a family business, so when one does it, we all do it.”
Less than a month after opening,San’s Pizzeria has been well-received by Ocala, and theFeldersare enjoying meeting new customers while serving uppizza, pasta, subs, and other Italian food.
Serving pizza from Pennsylvania to Florida
TheFeldersopened up the first San’s Pizzeria in their hometown of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, in 1986. As teenagers, theywould meet up with friends at different pizza places.
“It got to the point where it was so regular, and myhusband loved cooking to begin with, and we said, ‘You know what, let’s try to make our own pizza'one day,” Jacki said.
Sanalso gained some experience workingat a pizzeria for free one summer.
“It wasn’t about the money,” he said. “I had a fascination about making pizza.Iwent out there and I worked for free, and I picked it uprealquickly.”
The couple started making pizza in their kitchen for themselves, then for friends, then for friends’ children’s birthday parties, until they realized it was turning into something bigger and opened a restaurant.
They moved to Palm Harbor in 1993, where they grew their reputation and sold their restaurant four times, opening a new location each time until they retired.
They chose to come to Ocala because their daughter, Cara Turro, is acompetitive equestrian and moved to the area a few years ago.She told her parents it would be a great place to retire.
“Ever since she was a little kid, she said, ‘I'mgoing to move to Ocala. I'm going to move to Ocala. That's where I'mgoing to live one day,’ ”Jacki recalled.
After getting restless and reopening San’s Pizzeria in late August, the whole family has been brought back on board, including Turro;her husband, Nick;and San’s 84-year-old mother, Barbara.
Homemade pizza and pasta
“It'sjust been really wonderful,” Jacki said. “It is a warmer feeling than the Palm Harbor area. While it was really good for us and good to us, it was so fast-paced. Coming up here gives you a sense of calm, and even though we’re as crazy and busy and running around as we did in all of ourlocations, this one has a different sense.”
In Palm Harbor, the restaurant was in a residential area with families and kids, so large pizzas were more popular.
“In a retirementcommunity area, we see a difference in ordering, like a lot of dinners, alot of subs, small 10-inch pizzas,14-inchpizzas, not as many large pizzas(18-inch), sothedynamics have changed, but peoplehavebeen amazing,” San said. “They lovewhat we offer. They love our friendliness.”
In addition to their staple of pizza, San’s offers chicken wings, salads,stromboli, subs and dinner entreeslike baked ravioli,fettuccine alfredo, and chicken, eggplant or veal parmigiana.
“Everything is done homemade,” San said. “We make stuffed shells, manigots (manicotti), lasagnas. We batter eggplants, pound the chicken, pound the veal, meatballs. We make our bread, make our own pesto. I make Greek dressing, so you’re getting everything homemade and quality work.”
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They strive to give not only quality but also quantity with large portions, he says.They’re also looking to add soup, clams and shrimp soon to complement the menu.
“We didn't have to change our recipe from Pennsylvania 30-plus yearsago,” Jacki said.“It is our exact same recipe—our sauce recipe,our dough recipe. Nothinghas changed.”
'The best pizza I’ve had since we moved to Ocala'
In thefew weeks San’s opened, theFelderssay the reception has been “unbelievable.” Theyhave already seen returning customers in Ocala, as well as formercustomers from Palm Harbor, visit.
“It’s word-of-mouth, and it’s spreading quickly,” San said. “We don’t even have oursignupabove our building yet.”
Carol and Ernie Brandes live across the street in the Ocala Palms community. They tried San’s for the first time on Tuesday after seeing people talking about iton Facebook.
“The sauce is a little different, a little thicker, but it’s good,” Brandes said of her pizza with anchovies. “I’m enjoying it. I would recommend it.”
Frank Scinlari, who lives in On Top of the World, was also enjoying a meal at San’s for the second time since it’s opened in Ocala.
Scinlari provided lawn service for theFeldersback in Palm Harbor before moving to Ocala 13 years agoand was excited to learn about the new location.
“This is the best pizza I’ve had since we moved to Ocala,” he said.
“There are some good pizzas in Ocala, but this is great,” his wife, Sharon, added.“It’s out of this world.”
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TheScinlarisbrought their friends, Harry and Carol Rockwell, back to try it for themselves.
“We’re all from Jersey originally, so we know what good pizza is,” Harry said, noting that it wasn’t hard to be converted to a San’s fan.
'Our customers are like our extended family'
To theFelders,customers are like family, and the reception they’ve received so far has been rewarding.
“Our restaurants all these years have been word-of-mouth based on our product, our quality, our friendliness, our service,” Jacki said.“It’s all about the customers. We want you to leave with a good feeling, with comfort food,and the willingness and want to come back for more.”
One of the reasons they love their work, she says, is meeting people every day, listening to their stories and learning about their families.
“That's what it's all about,” she said.“It's like you go home to visityour family and everybody likes to sit around the dinner table and talkabout what's going on in their lives, and to us,that's what it's like.”
About San's Pizzeria
San’s Pizzeria is located at 4953 NWBlitchtonRoadin Ocala. Itis open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, and 3 to 9 p.m. on Sundays. The restaurant is still looking to hire for multiplestaff positions, which can be found on its Facebook page.
Contact reporter Danielle Johnson at djohnson@gannett.com.
