

“I focused more on the dining room and began sponsoring Little League teams, added TVs and a small arcade. “I started to build a small family restaurant within the restaurant,” Tony said. Tony and Joanne knew they had to do something different to really set themselves apart. Then a pizza franchise opened nearby and saturated the market with advertising. “At first, delivery went gangbusters, but the dining room was slow to catch on.” Since I knew the neighborhood so well, I knew it would be a great opportunity,” he said. “My focus was on doing pizza delivery because of the university. Marilynn Pratt, a GP with a practice in Westchester, helped with a loan as well. “So me and my father-in-law Richard Leger, an electrical contractor, physically built the location.” “It was an empty saloon with no kitchen,” Tony said. When Tony realized that no local place offered pizza delivery in the 80s, he saw an opportunity to try something new, so they sold their home near Glendale and opened their restaurant on Lincoln Blvd. As an added bonus, they’d also be able to raise their kids back in their hometown. They envisioned opening a family-friendly eatery located close to where they both grew up–Joanne in Westport Heights and Tony in Playa del Rey. He had spent his life working in other people’s kitchens and he and wife Joanne dreamed of having a restaurant of their own.

Owner Tony Seruto opened Tower Pizza in August 1986.

Westchester’s own “Cheers,” Tower Pizza, is making sure their customers are still being taken care of even though business looks a lot different these days. The Seruto family pose in front of Tower Pizza.
