Cousins Jeff Rhodes and Luke Gorby run Cozza’s Pizza Shop in The Village of East Palestine. Located at 57 Walnut Street, the building has been a cigar shop, a bakery and another pizza shop called Fulton’s before their uncle, John Cozza, opened the business in 1995.
Jeff explained, “My uncle owned it for my whole life. When it was time for him to retire, he offered us the opportunity to buy it from him. So now we’re running it.” He continued, “Growing up, that was always in the back of my mind – I want to be a part of the pizza shop one day. And, you know, now that I own it, it’s kind of come full circle.”
Cozza’s Pizza is open seven days a week. Monday through Wednesday, they are open 2:00 to 8:00 p.m., Thursday and Friday, they are open 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, they are open 3:00 to 8:00 p.m. Call 330-426-1955 to order.
They make pizzas, calzones, pepperoni rolls, several flavors of wings and favorites like fried cheese sticks. They make subs, the Italian Wedge (a folded-over pizza dough sandwich), prime-cut cod, spaghetti and chicken parmesan and a variety of salads.
Keeping the family business open was something that Jeff wanted to continue. He says, ”I started working here at 14, and this is where I learned how to make food, give change and how to interact with people. So everything that I do, I’ve grown up here doing it. And there’s a lot of ways you can help the community when you have a business. It’s cool to be able to give back.”