In a city steeped in tradition, from its historic healing spas to the horses, there is only one family owned restaurant that has endured for over 75 years.
Panza's bakery opened its doors in Mechanicville in 1897. That was the first time Upstate New York experienced the delicious Neapolitan style brick oven baked pizza and other secret family recipes our relatives brought with them from the old country. Ma Panza and her husband Joseph were unable to speak English when they first arrived from Napoli, so they allowed their cooking to do the talking for them, and did it ever. Everyone in the neighborhood was talking about this new baking sensation called, "pizza." Ma Panza's authentic brand of home style Italian cooking became a staple in the Capital Region, and has continued in their tradition spanning more than five generations and still using the same brick oven Ma Panza cooked in.
Today, we still offer the same authentic Italian fare Ma Panza made back in the late 1800s, serving guests in our restaurant and providing extensive catering services for banquets, weddings and events.
