It would be hard to find a casino where you couldn’t find pizza. And I’ve sampled it in scores of casino restaurants, delis, snack bars, and food courts over the decades.
Some of the pizza has been great. Secret Pizza at Cosmopolitan, Pop Up Pizza at the Plaza, and Pizza Rock next to the Downtown Grand – all in Las Vegas – are excellent examples. I’m sure there are many others in many other casino markets. On the other hand, truth be told, many of the casino pizza joints have pizza ranging from uninspiring to mediocre.
But now I’m going to share the story of a pizza place with pizza so good, with a concept so inspiring, that casinos (at least savvy ones) will certainly be saying “Why don’t we do that?!”
Say hello to Smiling with Hope Pizza right here in Reno, Nevada, and its mother-and-son owners, Robin and Andrew Silvaroli, who hail from the “pizza and wings city” of Buffalo, New York. Before sharing their story, a little background first on the Smiling with Hope concept.
A New Jersey man, Walter Gloshinski, moved to Ohio and became a special-education teacher at Newark High School. He started Smiling with Hope Bakery, a store that partnered with local community organizations to provide young adults with special needs, including a few of Walter’s students, with some real-world work experience. And while the bakery was never a huge commercial success, it was a big hit with caring members of the community.
Fast forward several years to 2015. Walter moved to Reno and started Smiling with Hope Pizza, with a New York pizza-style recipe from his days in New Jersey. Great pizza, same great community concept. He partnered with Truckee Meadows Community College and Transitions Academy (among other organizations) to provide internships and part-time jobs to young adults with special needs.
Smiling with Hope Pizza opened in a tiny strip mall storefront with barely enough room for a couple dozen chairs and a small food prep room with a pizza oven. It served primarily pizza, dine in or take out. And because the pizza was great and the community concept was inspiring, Smiling with Hope quickly developed a cult-like following.
But Walter was in his 70s and COVID nearly put Smiling with Hope out of business. It survived on take-out, then Walter looked to sell the business, concept, community, and pizza recipes late in 2022.
Enter Andrew Silvaroli and his mom, Robin. Andrew was born in Buffalo, New York, where his mom was a nurse and his dad, Patrick, was in medical services, and later certified as a nurse. Mom and Dad made the move from Buffalo to be nurses at a Las Vegas hospital and a few years later discovered the charms of Reno as a great place to raise a family.
Andrew Silvaroli mostly grew up in Reno, joined the military in 2014, and did a tour of Afghanistan in 2019-2020 before coming home to a job with the Nevada Army National Guard (he had experience in the Medi-Vac unit as a Black Hawk helicopter mechanic and an enlisted flight instructor; to this day he serves in the Nevada National Guard Reserves). Finishing his active duty in the military, Andrew took a huge risk with something he knew nothing about: owning and operating a pizza restaurant.
Mom and son purchased Smiling with Hope Pizza late in 2022. Mom Robin (who is half-Polish and half-Irish) had some Italian cooking experience through Grandma Silvaroli and Andrew had the work ethic, an appreciation of good New York-style pizza, and the impetuousness of youth. They trained for 80 hours with Walter and kept his pizza recipes, original Smiling with Hope location, and community relationships, to provide jobs and training for special-needs young adults.
I discovered Smiling with Hope Pizza a little over a year ago and have eaten many of its Sicilian-style and New York thin-crust pizzas since then. Smiling with Hope is looking for a larger restaurant and additional locations. The community partnerships in Reno continue to grow. The staff of 12 includes three employees with special needs (customers request pizza boxes folded by Hayden, stamped with his name on them). This spring/summer, Smiling with Hope Pizza is being featured on the Food Network in Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, sure to provide a new crush of pizza business.
But what most impresses me about Smiling with Hope Pizza is its perspective and operating philosophy. Some quotes from Andrew Silvaroli:
“My hometown of Buffalo is known as the City of Good Neighbors. I wanted to bring that family feeling into Smiling with Hope.”
“A Buffalo vibe, an official Buffalo Bills Backer, serving great New York-style pizza to neighbors who become family.”
“My strength is my staff. I never want to micromanage my employees.”
“My managers are so dedicated and take so much off my plate that it allows me to interact with the community.”
“It’s important to take care of my staff, because my staff takes care of me. I try to bring my staff into my family.”
“In Buffalo, pizzerias were not just restaurants, they were warmth and care for the community.”
I can envision the first Smiling with Hope Pizza location in a casino. And I dream of a nationwide network of 50 of them, serving great pizza in a neighborhood family atmosphere, all while serving the needs of the local community.
Or heck, Casino World, just get the Smiling with Hope recipes. You’ll sell a gondola full of pizzas.
