Fox's Pizza Den
The whole process was very, very easy. It flowed right through.
People
Chris Curcio learned early that traffic drives business. After fighting traffic as a delivery driver, Chris worked his way up, and since 1992 he has owned the Fox’s Pizza Den in West Newton. There, he noticed a new kind of traffic: the bicycles on the Great Allegheny Passage trail. “If I can pull 5 percent of the people from the trail into here, that’ll make a big impact on my business,” he says. So Chris leased a building on the trail, moved in his restaurant and added an ice cream shop.
Progress
A bank would have loaned Chris the money he needed, but wanted a lien on his house. “For 20 years, I have kept my business finances separate from my personal life, and I wanted to keep it that way,” he says. Leaders of Downtown West Newton Inc. told him about The Progress Fund, which loaned Chris $70,000, backed not by his house, but by his business’s potential.
Impact
Chris is creating around 20 new jobs, and offering more choices to hungry residents and trail users. Fox’s Pizza Den has expanded its menu to include burgers, hot dogs and pasta dishes. “I want people talking about Fox’s Pizza,” he says. “I want them saying how good the food is.”
View Story as PDF
Connect With Us!