ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

For many Fordham students, the process of going out at night can become something of a ritual. Students get ready, congregate in dorm rooms, head out to bars, parties or apartments and finish off the night with pizza.

Not everyone ascribes to this well-worn tradition, but enough students take part in the dorm-to-bar-to-food circuit that local businesses have, over the years, adopted rather unusual business models, adapting their hours and services to fit the Fordham lifestyle.

Three of the biggest players in Fordham’s late-night dining scene are University Pizza, Bellini’s Pizzeria and Restaurant and Pugsley’s Pizza. While they serve students and locals alike, the vast majority of their business is made up of Fordham students, and their hours reflect this.

During the week, the restaurants’ closing times range from 11:00 p.m. (Bellini’s) to roughly 1:30 a.m. (University) to 3:00 a.m. (Pugsley’s). On weekends and Tuesday nights, it is not uncommon for them to stay open as late as 5 a.m.

Tony Beqiri, whose family owns University, has seen many late nights in his 15 years.  Though he now mainly works day shifts, Beqiri said that these late hours can definitely be taxing for employees.

Still, he conceded, University is lucky to have such loyal clientele in Fordham students.

“I wish everybody was a Fordham student,” he said with a laugh. “It’d be much easier…there’s a great relationship.”

A similar attitude could be found at Bellini’s.

“Sometimes [we are here late] but you know, you gotta do what you gotta do, it’s a job,” said Alton, a Bellini’s employee of five years who preferred not to use his last name.

“We go according to party nights. It’s fast-paced…we keep up with the quality, we don’t give up on [that],” he said. “But it’s less headache because it’s only Fordham. You don’t have to worry about, like with the alcohol, to have to have a bouncer or something, so we keep it simple.”

Like Beqiri at University, Alton enjoys the bond between his restaurant and Fordham’s students, whose pictures decorate the walls of the eating area.

“[We] just treat them nice,” he said. “They are Bellini’s angels.”

The most legendary relationship between Fordham students and pizza, however, can unequivocally be found at Pugsley’s.

The owner of Pugsley’s, self-professed artist and dreamer Salvatore “Sal” Natale, has run the restaurant with his family for almost 30 years. Natale says that from the beginning, he envisioned the restaurant as the “capital of entertainment at Fordham.”

Since then, he has developed a strong bond with Fordham’s student body. This, coupled with Natale’s loose interpretation of traditional business hours, has transformed Pugsley’s into an icon.

“Business is based on the activity of the school,” Natale said. “We all come from dysfunctional families…we’re not 9-to-5 people…[we’re] kind of wild entrepreneurs. We sleep when we’re tired and we eat when we’re hungry.”

This philosophy seems to work for students, who almost invariably pack Pugsley’s after midnight, looking for good food and a friendly atmosphere.

Natale takes pride in his restaurant’s food, but notes that pizza is not Pugsley’s only selling point.

“We want to have good food, [but] we’re not even chefs! We’re not even pizza people! We cook it like we cook at home,” he said. “Pugsley’s Pizza is a mom and pop operation and we have a lot of fun. The students are great. This is special to me, [and] what makes it special is you guys.”

Students tend to agree about the special relationship, though food preferences vary from person to person.

“University has the best slices,” Dominic Carlucci, FCRH ’16, said. “If you think Pugsley’s tastes good, you’re drunk.” However, Carlucci conceded that Pugsley’s is important at Fordham. “Pugsley’s is an icon for Fordham alumni too. I meet alumni who ask me what I order on Friday nights,” he said.

Alicia Montanaro, FCRH ’16, agreed.

“Nobody who goes to Fordham doesn’t know where Pugsley’s is,” Montanaro said. “It’s a staple to Fordham and off-campus eating that we’d be sad to ever lose.”