A Little Slice of History

Riverdale Park's own Pizza Oven is a living example of a small local business that's rooted in tradition and old-school hospitality. Brian Boileau has owned and operated this eatery for more than 50 years, and he still shows up to work every morning. He has safeguarded its identity and history, while helping it adapt to the times.

Originally from Takoma Park, Boileau opened this first Pizza Oven location in 1957 and followed suit with several locations all the way to the Eastern Shore. Since then, he has sold off the majority of his businesses and opted to dedicate all of his time and focus to the original flagship store here in Riverdale Park.

"This was always where it started for me," Boileau said. "When I decided to run one restaurant, this was the obvious choice."

Fifty-three years later, the place is run with the same care and hospitality, and its charismatic owner tries to ensure that both patrons and employees are happy. Many of the staff have been working at the restaurant for more than a decade, and many patrons know Boileau well.

"Every time I come here, he's always so happy to see me," says David Martinez, a construction worker from Hyattsville. "It's worth the extra 10 minutes to be greeted like that."

The only thing more impressive than Boileau's spirit and energy is his meticulous attention to detail, which is reflected in the cleanliness and upkeep of his store. The food is fresh and follows secret recipes that date back more than 40 years. Boileau sources the majority of his product from local purveyors and farmers and even grows some of his own vegetables for use at the restaurant, including lettuce, corn, tomatoes, broccoli and green beans. Pizza dough is made twice a day with fresh milled flour from Ellicott City, and the pizza sauce is made with tomatoes from Boileau's garden.

The expansive menu strays from the typical, and aside from pizzas, wings, sandwiches and subs, patrons can order items such as curry chicken, gyros, cream of crab soup and Maryland crab soup. An outdoor grill serves up ribs, chicken and sausage, and orders are relayed from the inside via walkie-talkie.

In addition to that, Boileau composts the entirety of his food, paper and cardboard waste, and reuses it as fertile mulch for future growing seasons.

"I try to do my part to help the environment," he said. "It also makes for great mulch for my crops."

Besides being a restaurant, Pizza Oven is also a museum of sorts, an archive of records. Boileau possesses several guestbooks that he has maintained for decades, labeled by state of origin, country of origin and law enforcement affiliation. Patrons have donated baseball hats and ties, all of which adorn the store's walls to this day. There are four classic arcade machines, including a Pac-Man game from 1982.

Sports memorabilia is in abundance here as well, including jerseys autographed by Joe Namath and Mickey Mantle, and fun sports collages, custom-made by local artist Ozzie Hewick. Boileau is an avid collector of rare currencies and coins, including gold dollars and 50-cent pieces. Patrons have been known to get some $2 bills as part of their change, which makes the cash-only policy a little more fun.