Pizza p.a.d leaves a dozen years of tasty memories

It would be difficult to find someone in the Holyoke area who hasn’t tried pizza from Pizza p.a.d. From school and work events to birthday parties, lunches and dinners, the pizza from Pizza p.a.d and, before that, Schmidt’s, has become well known to area pizza lovers.

Pat and Danette Vasa owned Pizza p.a.d since 2008, when they took over Schmidt’s pizza business. They sold the building and the fixtures to Dale Berg, owner of Brewed Awakening Coffee and Bake Shop, which now occupies the building that housed Pizza p.a.d.

Both Pat and Danette feel the change is good all the way around, and they said they wish Berg and his team the best of luck in their new location.

When Bill and Carol Schmidt bought the building in 1990, it featured a coffee shop, a music store where Carol taught music lessons and a corner for Bud Brewer’s barber shop. Schmidt’s became a pizza place in 1993.

“I had always liked the pizza,” Pat said about the decision to buy the restaurant, adding that it allowed him to spend more time with family.

Both Pat and Danette said it was quite a learning process in the beginning. They emphasized how helpful Carol was during the transition process, and they went through about a two-week training period.

“After that, we were on our own,” Pat said with a laugh.

Pat and Danette kept all the Schmidt’s employees on when they took over, and they said the employees were also instrumental in helping them learn the restaurant business.

“Our focus was keeping the pizza going,” Pat said. He added that their goal was to keep the quality of the food consistent and use the original pizza recipe.

This also included the secret sauce recipe, which has not been written down.

“That’s the true start of the flavor of a pizza,” Pat said.

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