ICONIC “PIZZA LAND” ENDORSES BALWIERCZAK, PAPILE & SEVER!
NORTH ARLINGTON – Pizza Land, the iconic pizzeria located on the Belleville Turnpike, has endorsed the candidacy of Democratic mayoral candidate John Balwierczak, and his running-mates Dennis Papile & Cengiz “Jim” Sever.
The owner, known to his customers as Natty, is seen here endorsing the lifelong NA homeowner.
Pizza Land appears in the opening credits of every episode of The Sopranos.
Tony Soprano’s drive home includes the recognizable Pizza Land sign. While No actual episode scene was filmed inside Pizza Land, it was essentially a landmark in the opening-credit montage rather than a fictional location where Tony and his crew conducted business.
The restaurant became internationally recognizable because of that roughly one-second appearance in the credits, and fans began visiting specifically because of the show. The restaurant has embraced the connection, displaying Sopranos photographs and memorabilia.
Pizza Land actually predates the show by more than three decades.
It opened in 1965, long before The Sopranos premiered in 1999.
And geographically, this is significant: Pizza Land is actually in North Arlington, which makes the borough one of the real-world places incorporated into the visual geography of Tony Soprano’s North Jersey mafia crew.
Pizza Land is a much more interesting North Arlington story than simply “the pizza place from The Sopranos.” It has been a local institution for roughly 60 years, and the television connection came relatively late in its history.
Pizza Land opened in 1965 at 260 Belleville Turnpike, close to the Ridge Road area. Contemporary historical accounts identify Pietro DiPiazza, an Italian immigrant, as the founder. His younger brother Fred Di Piazza subsequently took over the business.
The business was originally a neighborhood Italian pizzeria rather than a tourist attraction. It became known for the old-fashioned, thin-crust/“thin-pan” style pizza that it still promotes today. The Hudson County tourism organization describes it as serving authentic Italian food and old-style pizza dating back to the 1960s.
After the show became a cultural phenomenon, Pizza Land began attracting people who had little or no connection to North Arlington.
The Sopranos location tours began stopping there, and fans would take photographs, buy pizza and memorabilia and then continue to other locations.
When James Gandolfini died in 2013, fans even came to Pizza Land to leave memorials because of its association with Tony Soprano and the show.
The restaurant continues to advertise itself as a North Arlington landmark and a Sopranos attraction.
Its own website calls it a “North Arlington historical landmark and legend.”
“I’m honored and delighted to have their support and friendship. I can think of no other more recognizable business in North Arlington than Pizza Land,” offered the lifelong resident and regular customer.
Meet the next Mayor! 
Balwierczak can be reached at (201) 655-8497 or via e-mail at [email protected]
Keeping NA small, safe, and suburban!
Balwierczak for Mayor. Papile & Sever for North Arlington Borough Council.