“-ette”

Friday night is pizza night. Our nine and 11 year old boys’ calendars aren’t dictated by Saturday morning soccer games or Monday mornings back to school. Pizza Friday sets the ebb and flow.

Admittedly, Friday evenings have become a beacon for me as well. I have been choosing to forego pizza delivery in order to pick up our pies at a place nearby called Pinocchios Pizza. It’s a beloved restaurant and craft beer store established some 60+ years ago. I order the pizzas online and then jump in the car to pick them up almost immediately afterwards, even though I know they won’t be ready for at least 40–60 minutes.

Why? Well, beer, of course. My wife is wise to my shenanigans.

During the pandemic, Pinocchios started serving beer in the parking lot from an old, beat up van. It’s adorable. Here it is. It’s fun to grab a Tonewood Fuego, cozy up under a propane heat lamp, and wait for your pizzas to be ready. I even caught up with an old friend on the phone. I forgot my phone had a phone app.

I’m sure the folks at Pinocchios are always fielding questions about the van. “What kind of van is this? Is there a lift kit on it? Are those pizza ovens in there?” Seemingly, in an effort to short circuit at least one of these queries, they’ve taken the time to apply some vinyl letters to the cab identifying what kind of van it actually is.