Dig in With Graver: A Slice of Nostalgia in Squirrel Hill
Aiello's Pizza looks toward the future from a piece of its past.
PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER
Last Friday, I ate lunch at Aiello’s Pizza so I could experience what it was like to pig out in the year I was born.
The Squirrel Hill eatery, opened in 1978 and, four decades later, renovated and expanded its Murray Avenue storefront. The family recently reinstalled an original booth and neon sign, creating a nostalgic nook in the middle of the modern dining room.
It’s the hottest (and most sentimental) seat in the house.
“With the photos and signage we already had, it felt like a natural way to honor the shop people remember, giving customers a chance to relive their memories and a bit of their childhood while also keeping the memory of our father, Joe, and his role in building Aiello’s, alive,” says Cathy Willis, who co-owns the business with her husband, Travis, and brother, Micheal Aiello.
SIBLINGS CATHY WILLIS AND MICHAEL AIELLO. PHOTO COURTESY OF AIELLO’S PIZZA
In 1967, Giueseppe “Joe” Aiello left Sicily for the United States with $13 in his pocket. On April 5, 1978, after a decade of slinging pies for another restaurant, he opened his own shop. It became a pizza institution in a city that loves a good slice. A Shaler location opened in 2023.
The family also reprinted a bunch of its retro ringer T-shirts and plans to launch a social media campaign asking fans to help them name the throwback booth. I suggest they call it “The Time Machine” since it’s impossible to sit there without thinking about the past.
PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER
Willis and I sat there reminiscing about the ‘90s. Back then, I was a University of Pittsburgh student and would stop at Aiello’s for an after-midnight bite. My how times — and my eating habits — have changed.
Although the vintage neon sign says they’re open until 2 a.m., current hours are 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10:30 a.m. to midnight on Friday and Saturday.
But the pizza still tastes as good as I remember.
Aiello’s Pizza is at 2112 Murray Ave., Squirrel Hill and 580 Burchfield Road, Shaler.
