Summers in New England typically include sweaty bleacher-seat baseball games, cooling off in some sort of water, late-night adventures, and lots of road trips.
For one family, those road trips weren’t to visit cousins or a cool new campsite…They were to explore the pizza capitals of America. New York, New Haven, Connecticut. To some, just destinations or even restroom pit stops. But to Tony Naser? Those places were where his family’s love for pizza began.
In 2010, Naser opened up his very first restaurant, Crush Pizza, named after their process of hand-crushing tomatoes for their homemade sauces.
“I knew I wanted to create somewhere my family and others would love to visit on their trips, so I did exactly that,” Naser said.
Eventually, the pizza shop famous for their 90 seconds in 900 degrees cooking method moved from Nashua, NH to Downtown Boston and a second spot opened in Quincy. In 2020, the Downtown location closed and now, they are gearing up for the grand opening of their newest spot in East Boston.
While this location won’t have the same 90 in 900 cooking technique, you won’t have to worry about waiting long for your pizza. All you’ll have to worry about is deciding what to order!
Whether it’s their best-selling vodka pepperoni Sicilian pizza with hot honey and homemade vodka sauce, the chopped Italian sub or the steak and cheese fries, Crush offers a variety of items that you might not expect to be on your standard pizza place menu. (And yes, they have gluten free dough!) They’re excited to bring their old classics and new flavors to the area and are even more excited to see returning faces along with some new ones.
Naser will never forget the feeling he had when seeing a daily line out the door of the State Street location filled with customers coming back for their third time that week.
He hopes to form that sort of community bond in Eastie.
“I believe [East Boston] will welcome us with open arms, as they do with any business,” Naser said. “We have received so much love and positive feedback from everyone as they wait for our grand opening.”
Good news…the wait is finally over! East Boston’s newest pizzeria, Crush Pizza, will be having a soft opening on August 6th! Throughout the week, you can expect celebratory slices, giveaways and more! They are ready to satisfy all your cravings and their hours are Monday to Saturday, 11:00 am – 9:00 pm and Sunday 12:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Be sure to follow them on Instagram for more updates.
The opening of this store signifies another accomplishment on the road to sharing their love for pizza with others across Boston and Massachusetts. It also provides even more family time for Naser, his wife and their three daughters.
They’ve gone from sharing the backseat of a car on a pizza journey to sharing the back of house…and a boss! It’s truly a family affair at Crush Pizza.
“Being able to share my passion with my family and see their ideas and their dreams come to life with me is a feeling any dad would strive for.”
And yes, they still fight over who gets the last slice!
Megan Klein is a freelance writer and Boston University graduate who currently works for the Boston Celtics. She loves making small world connections when meeting new people, trying new restaurants and capturing the life of Boston locals through her writing.
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