"Benny" opens pizzeria on Franklin Street

A pizzeria chain with Virginia roots has moved into a vacancy on the busiest corner of Franklin Street.

Benny Cappella’s, a spin-off of the original restaurant, Benny’s Home of the Virginia Slice, extended its chain to Chapel Hill for a grand opening on March 24.

The store brings its long operating hours to an already crowded pizza scene in Chapel Hill, as Italian Pizzeria 3, Mellow Mushroom, Topper’s Pizza and I ♥ NY Pizza all present immediate competition.

Despite the competition, Benny Cappella’s manager Shane Brady feels that sporting events will help bring in customers.

“It is a great spot for watching basketball games, and our late nights are when we’re the busiest,” Brady said. “We’ve got the best seats in town.”

Benny’s Home of the Virginia Slice is a Virginia based restaurant founded by a fabled Brooklyn pizza chef named Benedito, also known as “Benny.”

His last name has been intentionally kept a secret by the company, per request. The Chapel Hill restaurant is called “Benny Cappella’s,” as “Cappella” means “Chapel” in Italian.

Chapel Hill senior Jose Escobedo decided to incorporate the new pizzeria’s large pizzas—28”, to be exact—into his promposal. He spelled out “PROM” using pepperonis on a pie.

“The pizza was extremely good and huge, made just how I wanted it,” Escobedo said.

He added that the restaurant’s “service [was] great,” and the location was “very cool-looking with lots of space and colors.”

Benny Cappella’s is open from 11 a.m. to 12 a.m. on Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Every other day of the week, the pizzeria operates from 11 a.m. to 3 a.m.

berry.rigdon@gmail.com