The Antwerp Chamber of Commerce spotlight for August is Papa Oley’s Pizzaria. The business is in downtown (114 S. Main St) Antwerp, Ohio.
Tom and Missy VanVlerah purchased the pizza business from Dan and Sue Fowler in 2018. Owning a pizza shop is something that Tom has always wanted to do and he enjoys working within the community and fostering relationships with the folks in Antwerp. Incredibly, he did a college paper on being the owner of a Pizza shop just a few years ago. Right Tom :.) For Missy, this was totally different from her “day job”. Missy spends her time as a laboratory specialist at Parkview during the daytime and in her evenings and weekends she does the books for the business, pays the taxes and employees and occasionally you will see her up at the shop whipping up a yummy pizza.
Papa Oley’s Pizzaria is a hometown pizza shop. They create delicious pizzas, pasta dishes and a variety of hot and cold subs. They are perhaps best known for their cheesy bread and the Big Papa. The Big Papa is a 13 x 9 pizza loaded with toppings and nearly a pound of cheese surrounded by a sesame seed crust. Papa Oley’s provides carry out and dine in- although currently limited dine in during the Covid-19 epidemic.
What draws people in and keeps them coming back is the great food and friendly service in a quaint small town atmosphere. People come from surrounding towns to enjoy the Chicken Bacon Ranch pizza, BBQ chicken pizza, Meat lover’s pizza as well as spaghetti and fettucine alfredo dishes. You can even get dessert at Papa Oley’s. The Cinna bread is outstanding as is the Key Lime cheesecake or the Tiramisu.
Many Antwerp students have worked at the pizza shop through the years and this year they had 4 kids that graduated from high school. While most of them are from Antwerp, occasionally someone from a nearby town will venture over to Antwerp and start their first job. It is a great place to have that first job, learn how to work with others, learn time management and earn a paycheck.
On December 2nd last year a party came into the pizza shop to eat after rehearsal for a wedding. While they were there, Daniel and Shari asked Tom and Missy if they could get married there in the pizza shop. They were NOT the couple that was getting married the next day. SO, Tom and Missy hosted a wedding that evening.
While they are not using the items during the Covid-19 epidemic, they have a game table with puzzles and games for a family game night. Soon, you will be able to bring your kids up, enjoy a pizza and play some games while you are there.
Papa Oley’s enjoyed a tremendous amount of support from the community this past Spring during the Covid-19 epidemic. While business was slow at first during the stay at home orders, takeout orders started to pick up as people were unable to leave town which turned a usually slow spring business time into a very unexpectedly busy time. Tom and Missy and crew want to thank the Antwerp Community for their support!
The Antwerp Chamber of Commerce is excited to have Papa Oley’s Pizzaria, Tom, Missy and their team for partnering with us in the Antwerp Community.
