In October 1968, Richard Nixon and Hubert Humphrey were battling it out for the presidency. Tommie Smith and John Carlos gave glove-and-fist black power salutes on the medal stand at the Mexico City Olympics. “Hey Jude” sat atop the record charts.
And on October 12, 1968 — its opening day of business — Westport Pizzeria sold a slice for 25 cents.
In October 2013, we all know what happened after Nixon became president. We’ve seen how far our country’s race relations have progressed — and how much further we have to go. “Hey Jude” is still a great song.
2013 — or 1968?
It also costs quite a bit more than a quarter to buy a slice. But — in a downtown that has changed so much — Westport Pizzeria still looks just as it did 4 1/2 decades ago.
This Saturday (October 12) the pizza place celebrates its 45th anniversary with a special deal: From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., they’ll sell slices for 25 cents. Sodas are a quarter too. (At the counter only.)
In 1968, Westport Pizzeria was the only game in town. Now there’s competition everywhere, from thick-crust Planet to gourmet Tarry Lodge.
But the Mioli family — the founders and still the only owners of Westport Pizzeria — must be doing something right. A restaurant doesn’t last 45 years here on luck alone.
Some don’t even last 45 days.