Our Story

Alfonso's Family Trattoria & Gourmet Pizzeria has been a Somerville tradition for over 40 years, serving a loyal customer base. Alfonso's first opened its doors in 1978. It was founded by Aniello Ianniello, who immigrated from Naples Italy to Brooklyn, NY in 1954. He bought along with him his passion for good food and wine. He opened his first pizzeria called Pizza Center on the corner of Avenue J and East 13th Street in Brooklyn and sold pizza for 10 cents a slice. He created and perfected a recipe for pizza which has been used ever since.

In 1978 he and his family moved to Central Jersey and he opened Alfonso's Pizzeria in the old Downtown Somerville Shopping Mall. Its popularity grew quickly with the locals and because of its success Aniello and his son, Anthony decided to move to the now current location on Main Street. They re-named it Afonso's Family Trattoria & Gourmet Pizzeria. Shortly thereafter, Anthony took over operations and managed the restaurant. Over the years he hired many managers. One who stood out in particular was John Donald, who worked at Alfonso's for over eight years learning all aspects of the business. He and Anthony quickly developed a friendship outside of work. Eventually, John left Alfonso's to pursue a career in the foodservice industry. He and Anthony continued to stay in touch and saw each other several times a year enjoying their love for making homemade wine. In 2019, Anthony decided to retire. John had always dreamed of owning a restaurant so he together with his own family stepped in to take ownership.

John brings with him, years of experience in the food service and restaurant industries as well as his own family traditions. The recipe is still the same as it was back in 1978, Serve simple food with quality ingredients, coupled with great service! Once on board he hired a new executive Chef, Jack Gulino. Jack has also worked in several NJ restaurants and brings his experience and knowledge to the Alfonso's kitchen.

John's vision is to build on the long-time success of Alfonso's and create an even more exciting future. Some of the new ideas he has implemented has been a complete renovation of the bar area as well as live entertainment on weekends. Online ordering is in the works. He asks that you join him as he writes the next chapter in the Alfonso's Story.

Buon Appetito

The Donald Family