Poppa’s Pizza, located across the road from the University of Otago Central Library in Albany St, turned 50 recently.
Owner Daljeet “DJ” Singh, who took up sole ownership of the store in July last year, said he felt lucky to have taken up the reins of the business in time for the milestone.
The business was started by two Italian brothers who had once studied at the University of Otago, Mr Singh said.
While the original owners could not recall the exact date, they told him the shop opened in around February or March 1975.
The pizza parlour planned to mark the milestone with special promotions for customers, having already offered student-exclusive deals last week, Mr Singh said.
Lots of memories were associated with Poppa’s Pizza and people were emotionally attached to it, he said.
Some customers were still buying pizzas from them nearly 30 or 40 years after completing their studies.
One even travelled from Christchurch every month to buy a pizza, having once had a first date at the establishment as a student, he said.
“It’s very emotional as well when I see people and they came with their grandchildren and they came with their old friends and they’re just enjoying having pizzas here and sharing the stories with us.
“We feel like we preserve our history.”
The city’s student population had played a “very important role” in the pizza parlour since its inception, Mr Singh said.
“And they love it.
“When they come into this shop, they see the orientation posters — especially the new students, the teenage people — and they are very happy.”
He believed it was the oldest pizza parlour in the country, and it still resembled its look from 1975, he said.
The shop had also retained the same “secret recipe” for its pizza bases and sauce, which was passed down between owners, as well as the original menu of 17 pizzas — with the one exception of a vegan option introduced about a year ago, Mr Singh said.
