Local Pizzeria Donates Funds

The Whites are one local family that chowed down at the pizzeria to raise money for relief efforts in the wake of Sept. 11.

"We come all the time anyway," said Sherry White, between bites.

Amante Gourmet Pizza in Carrboro, plus two locations in Durham and Morrisville, is donating all of its Oct. 2 revenue to charities supporting relief for the Sept. 11 attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C.

All money received from the pizzerias will go to the New York World Trade Center relief fund and to a Pentagon relief fund.

"I approached (owner) Mr. (Michael) Villopoto to see what we could do as a company," said store manager Ramon Soler.

"We were thinking of donating our profits but donating our entire revenue is more beneficial."

Soler said if the stores simply sent the profits that each store earned, then the cost of operation would be included, minimizing the potential of the fund-raiser.

Soler said he spoke with Villopoto soon after the incidents to discuss possible actions the stores could take to assist in relief efforts.

To cover the costs of production, a variety of food vendors donated their services, Soler said.

"The stores we contacted were very responsive," Soler said. "We got donations from 11 organizations in the area."

The publicizing was successful, as each Amante location noticed a raise in sales, Soler said.

Soler said that he was pleasantly surprised by the increase in sales, which he said translates to a heightened local concern for the victims of Sept. 11.

"All of the stores were quite a bit busier than usual," said Soler. "We had higher revenue than we expected."

Soler said he expects that each store will generate at least $2,000, which means the three Amante Gourmet Pizza locations could send more than $6,000 to the relief aid.

"We had a great volume of customers in response to fund raising," he said.

Local police and firefighters were also on hand to help the restaurant employees jump-start the fund-raiser and raise awareness for the cause.

"Policemen and firemen were present at each location," said Soler.

"The firefighters parked their trucks in front of the stores and increased awareness. They brought their mascot and were giving children tours of the fire trucks and firemen hats."

White, who is a former firefighter, said he and his family dined at the restaurant Oct. 2 after hearing about the relief actions Amante Pizza planned to take.

"I wanted to do something for the 300 brave men buried in the rubble," White said. "I heard that the owner came back into the country to help and that's a noble act."

"We made a special effort to come tonight and personally support the victims."

The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu