COOKEVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — One of the workers put it best. It's not just making pizza. A restaurant has found a beautiful way to pay-it-forward to others.
What they do just keeps getting better.
"How many pizzas a day do you make, Tony?" I asked.
"Oh, we average about 55 a day, but on the weekend, it's closer to a hundred," Tony Nigro answered between placing pepperoni on a pizza. "If you're not doing a lot of pizzas on Friday and Saturday, you need to sell trucks or something!"
Born in Brooklyn, grew up on Long Island. That's childhood for Tony. Truly, though, so much of childhood was spent learning how to make comfort food from mom Barbara. Was she a good cook? What, are you kidding?
"Your mom make a mean pizza?" I asked.
"My mother makes everything mean!" Tony smiled.
It's all his mom's recipes at Big Tony's Pizzeria in Cookeville.
"You're getting a plate of pasta from my mother," Tony continued.
Barbara's house was known as a place anyone could find something to eat.
"I'm one of ten, so she had a lot of mouths to feed to start off!" Tony said.
Tony's daughter had this idea.
"This is Stormy," Tony said, introducing his daughter. "It was her idea, the Pay-It-Forward Board."
With it, people can pay for someone else to have a meal. The Cookeville Human Fund donates, local businesses donate, but it's mostly just regular customers. It's making sure someone less fortunate doesn't go hungry. In the two years since it started, 2,000 meals have been paid for.
"It wasn't a surprise," Stormy said. "I think because of the community we live in, I'm not surprised at all."
Giving back hasn't stopped at the board. On certain Tuesdays, money made goes toward a cause like the family of a child living with cancer. On the Tuesday of this visit, proceeds were going to Tennessee Tech Army ROTC for them to help Gold Star Families. It was an effort led by Tommy Stephens.
"Seems like you've done this before!" I said to Tommy as he flipped pizza dough.
"A little bit!" he answered. "I've worked here on and off for the last five years. I've noticed just the amount of community Tony has spread throughout Cookeville alone."
Tony's mom Barbara died three years ago. The spirit is still going of that Long Island home where anyone could find something to eat.
"I think this is a tribute to her," Tony said. "None of us are getting out of this alive, so the more stuff we can do here, the better off we are!"
Tony's joined in that effort by wife Liz and by a team including Tommy.
"It's not just making pizza," Tommy said. "It's forming a community. It's helping the community out."
Do you have a positive, good news story? You can e-mail me at forrest.sanders@newschannel5.com.
Shred the gnar with Patrick - the snowboarding lawyer that will remind you not to take things too seriously! His cheeky, cheerful attitude is contagious. His only complaint? The lack of chairlifts at the Tennessee State Capitol of course. Watch his story for an instant pick-me-up on a frigid day.
-Rebecca Schleicher
