Knead to know : Grab life by the slice Leo’s Pizzeria to open Lock Haven location
By Christopher Miller
LOCK HAVEN – There has been a lot of buzz lately on local social media groups and pages about a new pizza experience establishing a second location in Lock Haven.
Mark Mangiardi, owner of Leo’s Pizzeria in Williamsport posted official word of the expansion on their Facebook page on January 22. “Looking ahead to the future, yes Lock Haven this is your official post…Leo’s second home will be in your wonderful city.”
What is interesting to note within the Facebook post is this next line, “all of our same mentality will be coming with us from Williamsport, as we give up our sales for a day and feed an entire school, hospital, nursing home, etc. we will make sure we are a staple in your community as we are here.”
Mark was more than excited to expand more on that concept. “Sometimes we donate our entire sales for a whole day and feed a school, a hospital, a nursing home…it is something we do to give back, and other local shops have gotten involved with it by donating things to accompany the meal, like drink boxes for schools,” Mark explained.
But why Lock Haven, why a second location? The Record looked into this further.
“We have had so many customers from Lock Haven come up here and kept saying we need to put a shop in down there, so I threw a teaser post on Facebook and it spread like wildfire, it blew up,” Mark explained. “I will be signing the lease today (Jan. 25) and I am hoping to open by mid-March.”
At first, Mark is planning to have a limited menu in Lock Haven compared to his Williamsport location. “We will have pizza, calzones, garlic knots, appetizers, and some others…I refuse to buy anything that I can make myself, so my rolls are always freshly hand-made, my dough is fermented for 48 hours and if it is not ready then I will not sell a pizza, I make the mozzarella by hand…eventually we will have a full menu in Lock Haven.”
Leo’s Pizzeria opened 2 years ago in Williamsport and since then, it has been rated the best pizza in the city for each year in a row. “Our pizzas are thin crust, crispy, and cooked well done,” Mark explained. “I do what I do because I absolutely love it – I am enthralled by pizza.”
When it comes to real world experience, Mark has had it and trained from some of the best pizza shops in New York and Philadelphia. “I have worked in top shops in the cities for free just to learn things and tweak things to bring back to my restaurant,” Mark explained. “Pennsylvania has some of the highest quality ingredients for pizza because we care here – Angelo’s on 9th Street in Philly uses fresh Basil…and it shows!”
When it comes to the word “fresh,” Mark shows his passionate side.
“Our rolls are hand-made, pizza dough is freshly made and fermented…I have no freezers here, everything is fresh – my cheesesteaks are straight cut sliced ribeyes and yes, our prices are a little higher, but the quality is there with every bite,” Mark explained.
Mark stresses that he is not coming to Lock Haven to disturb the local pizza scene and to go home after work. “You will see me out and about in the community, supporting local businesses in Lock Haven – the barber’s, boutiques, I support everyone else because we are all in this together.”
Opening mid-March
Leo’s Pizzeria
524 East Main Street
Lock Haven
Official hours and grand opening is being worked out. Please keep an eye out on social media for this.
