Windsor, Ont. pizza featured in documentary to showcase 'The Pizza City You've Never Heard Of'
Windsor’s official moniker may be the automotive capital of Canada, but a filmmaker is hoping to put the Rose City on the map for another reason: pizza.
George Kalivas was raised in Windsor, but moved to New York when he was 18. During his time there, the expat was introduced to many famous New York pizza joints, but he says none held a candle to the pizza from his hometown.
“I used to always say to my friends, ‘You should try the pizza where I’m from, you should come to my hometown.’ And they would look at me like I was completely insane, like ‘Where are you from, this is New York City!’” Kalivas recounts.
Suddenly, the idea struck.
Kalivas wrote and produced the new road-trip documentary delving into the history, interviewing the people behind Windsor’s well-established pizza places.
“The one thing that every owner and every family behind these pizza brands brought up is the fact that it all started with Volcano,” he says, noting the storied 70-year history branches out like a tree, with Windsor touting the most pizzerias per capita in Canada.
The documentary also explores essential characteristics that define our favourite Italian cuisine.
“Some people will say it’s the style of sauce that goes on there,” says Adriano Ciotoli, co-owner of Windsor Eats. “Some will say it’s the canned mushrooms, others will say it’s the Galati cheese that makes it a Windsor-style pizza.”
But Kalivas’ number one goal is putting Windsor-style pizza on the map.
He tells CTV News Windsor the flick has already been picked up by a number of film festivals -- and his team, including director Tristan Laughton, is working on getting a deal with a streaming service.
“Nobody knows about the Windsor pizza story and we’re hoping to be the ones to finally introduce it to the world,” Kalivas says.
The trailer goes live August 12 and Kalivas expects a film release in 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.