Ever since I moved into this neighborhood, my family have brought pizza from Andy’s.

Andy’s is the pizza shop that is located on East 180th Street, however; this Sunday Andy,the owner, was there with his workers moving the store furniture and taking down signs. He no longer will be at the end of the block. He would be off the block. His rent was just too high.

Andy became a part of our family. When no one cooked, Andy would be on our list to call. My dad did the signs for his shop. Because it was located on the same block of my church, my friends and I all used to go to Andy’s if we did not have a taste for ‘soul food’ (better known as church food). It is the only shop I would go into and sing out loud while I was waiting for food. And I wouldn’t be the only one singing. Sometimes all my church friends would be there and we all would be singing and someone with good rhythm would start to beat on the table.

I always used to eat plain pizza until I started trying Andy’s different types of pizza’s and got hooked. My dad would sometimes call his shop and tell Andy to ‘fix him up’ and Andy would know just what to put on the pizza. If I did not have a taste for pizza, I would order his lasagna and salad which I loved.

When I started college at Fordham, I often saw Andy’s delivery men on campus and would always say hi. Once I even saw Andy delivering and he offered to take me home. Sometimes I would take some flyers from his shop and distribute them on campus so he could get more business.

When my best friend came to New York to visit from Tennessee, one of the first things on her list was to buy beef patties from Andy to take them back home.

Now, Andy’s will not be there.

Here is a photo of my sister, Andy and Me