By: Jasmine White, Follow South Jersey Community Journalist
MERCHANTVILLE, N.J. – Since the 1960s, the panzarotti, a pocketed fried dough with cheese filling and sauce, made its way to America originally sold for $0.25 a piece.
Pauline Tarantini, an Italian immigrant from Brindisi, traveled to Camden with her family of 12. Her and her husband mass produced panzarottis, selling them from their home and at local gas stations, up until purchasing a storefront in 1963.
Tarantini had no idea that a recipe taught to her at the young age of seven would turn into a breaking business to be carried on through decades, making the Tarantini family the originators of panzarottis.
The business passed down to the next generation now has multiple locations, one being that of Vincent’s Pizza found on 17 W. Park Avenue, in Merchantville. This location is run by Leopoldo “Paul” Tarantini and his wife Rhonda Tarantini, which originally opened in 1971 by Vincenzo Tarantini, Paul’s father.
“My grandparents started [the business] and then my uncle [Franco Tarantini] opened a place in Westmont called Franco’s,” Paul Tarantini said. “Then a few months later, my father opened this place.”
Paul Tarantini has been in the panzarotti business his entire life, enjoying carrying on the family tradition alongside his wife.
Rhonda Tarantini, originally from Long Beach Island, did not know much about panzarottis until meeting her now husband. She enjoys making them and emphasized how delicious they are.
“I never heard of [panzarottis] until I started dating [Paul Tarantini] because I’m not from around here,” Rhonda Tarantini said. “I had my first panzarotti at his uncle’s shop and I started to eat it with a fork and a knife and I was [laughed] at.”
The panzarottis offer the choice to add different fillings to go with the cheese and sauce; anywhere from just vegetables to pepperoni and much more. They are hand food, which are easy to eat and are available in a number of sizes.
Vincent’s Pizza offers catering for events and parties. You can place your order over the phone and it can be delivered to your desired location at reasonable prices.
You can place regular orders for pickup and delivery through partnered applications such as DoorDash and GrubHub, making the ability to enjoy these treats easier.
The company is celebrating its 64th anniversary and is planning to celebrate many more as the years go on.
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