Taste New York, Sicily in every pizza slice

Old favorites, such as the Margherita (foreground), along with potential new favorites, such as pickled pepper pie, are available at New York Squares in Independence. The restaurant’s menu is available online. Submitted photo.

On Saturday this scene played out at the newly opened New York Squares in Independence.

A customer complimented owners Michael and Juby Galatioto about their pizza. She then asked about a sweetness she tasted but couldn’t identify. That, Michael said, is the hot honey.

The reason this tidbit is noteworthy is that hot honey is probably the only ingredient found in a New York Squares pizza that isn’t rooted in tradition, especially as it relates to Sicilian-New York cuisine.

Michael Galatioto knows his pizza. He is first-generation American-Sicilian, having been born and raised in Queens, New York. He grew up on Sicilian pizza made by his grandmother Giovanna. He learned her techniques by helping her in the kitchen.

“I made pizza with my own grandma when I was a kid, and that’s really where making square pizzas comes from for me,” he said.

Galatioto also frequented many of the best pizza eateries in a city known for it pizza eateries. His exploration into all things pizza continued during the years he lived in Italy. He immersed himself in that country’s food culture, from Torino south to Castellammare Del Golfo (where his family is from).

What he learned was what is grandmother told him years ago: the foundation for any good Sicilian pizza is its crust.

“Because we’re from New York. Our pizza is square, which is rooted in Sicilian pizza … which is rooted in focaccia,” he said.

Focaccia makes for a thicker crust then what is found on most pizzas. From there its quality ingredients on top of quality ingredients.

In opening their new restaurant, New York Squares in Independence, Juby (left) and Michael Galatioto are continuing a family tradition. The restaurant features Sicilian-New York City style pizza. Photo by Lance Masterson.

The Galatiotos worked at New York Presbyterian Hospital. Michael was in IT; Juby was a medical secretary. The hospital was at “ground zero” during Covid.

“But COVID was not the reason we moved. We wanted to move for years. New York is a very high-priced place. It’s kind of frantic,” he said. “We like traveling and seeing other places. This sort of opened our eyes to the fact that we just didn’t want to be in a city with 10 million people.”

Instead, they chose a city with a population of 10,000. Oregon wasn’t their first choice, however, as they were considering North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida.

“But my sister moved out here eight years ago,” Michael said. “We visited and we really loved it. So we decided to come out here.”

Once here, the Galatiotos found jobs in the health industry.

“I got a good salary to transfer, and my wife did too. Sign on bonus. Everything was great. But when I was going to work, I just realized it wasn’t something that I wanted to do,” he said. “The job I took here … I was basically staring at a computer screen all day, and I just knew I didn’t want to do that for the rest of my life.”

Instead, he found inspiration in the kitchen.

“I was making pizza at home. Then my sister’s friends were asking to buy pizza. And then I was like, well, I make pretty good pizza, and there’s a shortage of authentic pizza here,” he said. “So I just decided to take a shot and jump in headfirst.”

In this case, that meant buying a food truck. The couple opened it in 2023 at a site just behind where they are now. Shortcomings of a food truck soon became apparent.

“It’s very hard to do pizza in a food truck, if you’re doing homemade pizza,” he said. “If you’re making pre-made (pizza) I guess it’s not that hard. But if you’re making dough, making sauce, making ingredients, cutting everything fresh. You have a 500 degree oven in something the size of a large closet. It’s just brutal.”

Despite the proximity, they initially didn’t consider their eventual site a possibility. That space was taken by Damn Good Bread, but then that company’s plans to open their own business fell through.

“This put us in a position where it was a very easy transition for us. So we decided to take it on,” Michael said.

The new site allows the Galatiotos to sell more pizza. That’s good news given their success overwhelmed the food truck’s capabilities. On this, Michael said: “There’s only so much dough you can do with a small mixer. Towards the end we were selling out every single day. It was a great problem to have. But you’re also leaving money on the table. Not that it’s all about the money, you know. We have a product that people like. To us that means a lot … But we didn’t want people to come all the way down here and then have to tell them we sold out.”

Time will tell if there are any sell outs in New York Squares’ future. But there’s little question their reopening was met with enthusiasm. On the first day back some 40 people were lined up waiting for New York Squares to open its doors, Michael said.

Each full-sized pie measure 12x18 inches and is cut into four slices. Half pies are also sold. Each slice can be customized to meet specific requests.

New York Squares is at 240 Monmouth Street in Independence. It’s next door to Parallel 45 Brewing. Hours are noon to 8 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday.

Call (541) 243-2626 for more information or to place an order.