The little storefront in the strip of shops next to the Winn-Dixie on Colonial Drive at Bumby Avenue has perennially been a pizza parlor. I’ve lost track of how many pizzerias have occupied the space. I’m pretty sure Soprano’s, which has resided for several years now on Curry Ford Road, started out there. And I recall another, though not by name. I remember it because the young owner, while waiting on me at the counter, was scowling at a worker, an older woman who also appeared to be his mother. As she passed by, the owner stopped taking my order and said to her, “You’re really pissing me off.”

Charming.

Anyway, the space has history.

The current resident is Petey’s NY Pizza. It also appears to be a family operation, but a less dysfunctional one.

The menu bears the slogan, “The Imitation Stops Here!” I can’t begin to imagine what that means. The pizza was acceptably good though not exceptionally good. The crust was just slightly under baked, so it lacked the proper crispness. Toppings were not copious, but there were enough to identify them by sight. I thought the sauce had all the right flavor components and wasn’t too sweet. Nice sauce.

Besides the line of pizzas, one of which is called the Porky Pig, which really makes me want to order it, Petey’s has a rather extensive list of the usual Italian restaurant offerings, including you carbonaras, your parmigianas, you marsalas and so on. But the place isn’t called Petey’s Pasta, so I stuck with the pizza. The small space is not what I would call attractive; I was glad I ordered my pizza to go.

The people were all very nice and friendly, not only to me but also to each other.

Petey’s NY Pizza is open for lunch and dinner daily. The imitation stops at 2425 E. Colonial Drive, Orlando. Here’s a link to peteysnypizza.com. The phone number is 407-601-6929.

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