About Us

Our Story

My dad opened his first pizzeria in 1972, called Costanzo's Pizzeria, on Hamilton St. in Poughkeepsie, NY. I was 4 years old at the time, and I spent a lot of time there with my mom and dad. My dad, Antonio DeBernardo, is from Naples, Italy, where I was born as well. He was at that location until 1975, when he then moved to the south side of Poughkeepsie. He changed the name to The Real Napoli and Sicilia Pizza, which was shortened to Napoli's. Everyone referred to him as Chief!

This was a much nicer neighborhood at the time and was very close to Vassar College, which in 1975 became coed. Thus began his journey with late-night pizza delivery. We would stay open until 2 or 3 in the morning. The neighborhood appreciated being able to get a pizza at late-night hours. He was well known for good pizza and as a wonderful man with a huge heart. Of course, my mother, my sisters, and I all worked there. In 1983, he bought a building down the street and created an apartment upstairs over the pizzeria. He continued his illustrious career for 30-plus years. I grew up in the business and met all the other pizza guys he was friends with. I learned many things from them. His one friend, Dominic, was a trained baker from Italy. He taught me the most of all his friends. All these men had a work ethic that was incomparable, but they all admired my father's relentless drive to succeed. That is what drives me today as well.

As they say, it's hard to work with family, and I eventually went on my own. I tried a few different careers, but I always ended up in the food industry. After realizing that I too had that drive and hard work ethic, I went into business. My first pizzeria was in Stanfordville, NY. In 2002, I started the first Cozzy's Pizza. It was a very small place, and like my dad, I began my journey of feeding people in the community my pizza. I then moved to Pine Plains, NY, where I opened my first restaurant and pizzeria in 2004. We had a wonderful time in this location. We offered a seasonal beer garden with live music. The restaurant sat 50 people and was often packed. But as my father got on in his later years, he retired and wanted me to take over the family business. So I jumped at the opportunity to go back to my roots. I went back to Poughkeepsie, remodeled his location, and reopened. We did really well, but Poughkeepsie wasn't the same, and I really enjoyed my life in the Northeast corner. You see, I'm a motorcyclist, and this is the most beautiful area to ride. I really enjoyed the people out here. This is where I discovered my pizza life.

I moved back out to the Northeast corner and opened in Millerton, NY. Another wonderful town with many beautiful people. I spent quite a bit of time there, traveling to many small towns in the area on my motorcycle. But Kent always pulled at me, and I remember the first time I rode through here, it was 1995. I thought it was a cool town. When I found out about the private schools, it reminded me of my father's time when he discovered Vassar College. I made up my mind that I would eventually get here.

Another wonderful thing about my dad was taking care of the local community. That way of living goes back to his mother in Italy. She would feed many people during the Depression. They had a farm growing up there, and my grandfather had a small boating business; he would transport goods to the islands of Procida and Ischia. Needless to say, Kent really spoke to me, and I began my pizza life in Kent, CT, back in 2018. Today, Kent offers me an abundant life, and I'm so grateful that I'm here today. It's a new beginning to an old way of life, feeding people wonderful pizza.