FARMINGTON — It took long hours and hard work, but 25 years ago Roula Maniatakos had no idea how much her business and this community would come to mean to her.

The Farmington House of Pizza is celebrating its 25th anniversary this month. Opening day was March 18, 1988, Maniatakos said.

The celebration extends to the welfare of children and animals as all profits from Monday and Tuesday will be donated to the Franklin County Animal Shelter and the Franklin County Children’s Task Force, she said.

They came to her mind as recipients because she loves animals, knows the people involved and loves them, she said.

There’s also something for all the many customers over the years. Free slices of pizza will be given out Monday and Tuesday at the restaurant on Broadway.

She learned the business working 15 years for a similar shop in Massachusetts, one offering pizza, subs and some homemade dinners.

Just before noon Friday, the busy downtown eatery started to fill with customers. Many come for Tracy Boivin’s homemade fish chowder on Friday, she said.

Boivin has worked with Maniatakos almost the entire 25 years.

“She’s an excellent person,” she said.

She said Boivin and her landlord, Craig Jordan, are two special people.

For the past 25 years, Jordan has turned the large ovens on at 7 a.m. each morning.

“He’s not missed one day,” she said. “It’s helped so much.”

The shop is open every day, expect Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Manitakos left her family and seaside village in her native Greece at age 17 to come to the United States with her husband. It was a shock to her, she said of the adjustment.

“Today, I wouldn’t change it. I’m happy. I love the area and the people,” she said.  “I love my job. It’s a good job. Everyday it’s something new.”

It’s one she’s done for more than 40 years. She started working at about age 20, putting her skills and love of cooking and serving to work. 

When her brother moved to the states, she decided it was time to think about owning her own business. She sold her Massachusetts home and moved to Madison to invest in the Madison House of Pizza.

With family and good employees there, she decided it was time to think about opening another business. When she drove to Farmington for the first time, she spotted a large for sale sign in the Broadway location of her business.

There were other empty stores along the street. It caused her to hesitate on buying.

About a month later, Jordan called to see if she was interested in opening here. He said he’d buy the building and rent half to her.

“It seems like yesterday,” she said.

She opened another shop in Fairfield and has since sold it and the Madison location. She continues to work here where her brother and son also help.

Once her daughter married, the couple followed her example, buying and running the Unity House of Pizza, she said.

“I’m not living an extravagant life,” she said. But the shops have provided a living for her and her family and a home for them and the pets she loves.

abryant@sunjournal.com

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