Like many teenagers on the verge of graduation, Brittany Sage admits she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do after wrapping up her secondary school studies in Stratford.
Like many teenagers on the verge of graduation, Brittany Sage admits she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do after wrapping up her secondary school studies in Stratford.
Unlike many teenagers, though, Sage did know one thing – she loved her part-time job.
Sage began working at Vinni’s Pizza, the long-standing local shop in the Festival Marketplace food court, when she was 15. She enjoyed helping her aunt cook at home, so working in the restaurant industry while she went to school seemed like a good fit .
“She was a baker and I was just always in the kitchen,” Sage said. “I just loved feeding people.”
What Sage didn’t realize then was that she would still be at Vinni’s 12 years later, not as an employee but as its owner. She took over the local pizza joint from Deb Siegner, its previous owner, about seven years ago.
On Friday, Sage, now 27, is preparing to celebrate the local restaurant’s 30th anniversary, making it one of the longest-running pizza places in Stratford.
“I can’t believe how fast time has gone, especially over the last couple years of the pandemic,” she said. “It’s like the blink of an eye, really.
“I bought the business when I was 20. I just really had no idea what I wanted to do, but I loved my job and I thought it’d be a huge learning experience. I would do it all over again, for sure. I’m very thankful that I had the opportunity.”
Vinni’s Pizza opened in 1992 during the early days of the Festival Marketplace, Stratford’s shopping mall on Ontario Street east of the downtown core. It was originally owned by Siegner’s brother-in-law, who also ran a shawarma place in the spot next door.
Much like Sage, Siegner – one of the first employees at Vinni’s – also loved working there. She ended up purchasing it herself a year or two later.
“I just loved making pizza,” Siegner said. “I bought it (and) the rest is history, I guess, until I retired.”
Siegner worked through a lot changes at the mall. She used to cater to kids who crowded the food court during March breaks but, as the years went on, her key customers began to skew older.
Siegner began changing the menu to appeal to seniors. What was once just a pizza place suddenly began offering soup, sandwiches and salads.
Nearly all the other restaurants in the food court have since closed. Vinni’s has survived, along with a Chinese restaurant just around the corner.
Being flexible is a lesson she passed onto Sage before her retirement.
“I was very confident that she could do it well,” Siegner said.
Sage’s tenure at Vinni’s has also come with plenty of ups and downs.
It took four co-signers for her to be approved for the loan she needed to get started, a debt she paid off in her first year and a half in charge.
“It’s funny how it’s easier to get a student loan than it is a business loan,” she said.
More recently, Sage guided Vinni’s through the pandemic, when she lost her dough supplier and was forced to close down for months at a time. Although she was hesitant at first to change more than 20 years of tradition, Sage now makes the dough by hand.
“Yes, we get much better feedback,” she said. “It’s way more cost-efficient for us as well. A lot more work, but it’s definitely worth it.”
Pizza will be buy one, get one half off on Friday. Vinni’s will also be offering free cupcakes.
Sage isn’t sure exactly what the future will bring.
“Maybe a bigger location, one day,” she said.
For now, she’s thankful for Siegner and another of the restaurant’s longtime employees, Evelyn Wagler, who’s been there for 16 years.
“I had amazing support,” Sage said. “It’s just a positive environment. We’re just like a little family here, a little Vinni’s family.”
IF YOU GO
What: Vinni’s Pizza celebrates 30 years
When: Friday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Where: Vinni’s Pizza, in the Festival Marketplace food court, 1067 Ontario St.