The Wyoming Valley has enjoyed Dino’s Pizza for more than three decades.
Dino’s Pizza was started by Gaetano Buonsante in 1975 in the Wyoming Valley Mall. Gaetano’s son, Dominic, worked as a young apprentice at the restaurant and in early 2016 opened Dino’s Pizza Express, 41 S. Main St., Wilkes-Barre.
The downtown restaurant offers a variety of Italian dishes plus salads, wraps, New York style-pizza and the Specialty Grandma Pizza, consisting of a thin crust topped with mozzarella cheese, homemade marinara, fresh garlic and a signature basil dressing. And although the restaurant is serving a limited menu at this time, customers can order takeout online at dinospizzaexpress.com or by calling 570-991-6958.
Chef’s Table recently chatted with Buonsante, who runs the family-owned restaurant with his wife, Kendra.
Q: What type of food do you serve?
A: We serve New York-style pizza, specialty pizza, calzones, stromboli, hoagies, salads, wraps, paninis and cannolis.
Q: What’s your specialty?
A: Our specialty is definitely our Grandma Pizza and our homemade cannoli.
Q: How did your menu come to be?
A: We created our menu with both classic recipes and new trends.
Q: What type of seating do you have?
A: We have a dining room that seats up to 40 people.
Q: Do you offer catering, event space, etc.?
A: We offer off-premise catering for parties and offices for up to 200 people. We also do giant cannoli pyramids for weddings and colored cannolis for baby showers.
Q: Where do you see the restaurant headed in the future?
A: Hopefully, we can get through this pandemic and continue on for many years to come.
Q: Do you offer takeout, delivery or curbside pickup?
A: We offer takeout via phone or online ordering and pickup at our takeout window.
Dino’s Pizza Express
Address: 41 S. Main St., Wilkes-Barre
Phone: 570-991-6958
Established:January 2016
Owners: Dominic and Kendra Buonsante
Cuisine: Italian
Normal hours: Mondays and Tuesdays, 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; Wednesdays and Thursdays, 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Fridays, 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Saturdays, 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Note: The restaurant is offering a limited menu for takeout, online ordering and pickup at its takeout window.
Laura Rysz is the features copy editor and calendar editor at The Times-Tribune and runs the Talk of the Times column, which focuses on local fundraisers and other events. She also writes Chef’s Table that profiles restaurants around the region. Additionally, Laura curates events online on AccessNEPA.com. Laura is involved in the special Mother’s Day edition and curates occasional features Marry Memories and Times Travelers. She is a graduate of Haddonfield Memorial High School, New Jersey, and earned an English professional writing degree with a minor in mass communications from King’s College, Wilkes-Barre. She also earned a certificate in Social Media Marketing from Rutgers Business School. Contact: lrysz@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5228.
