The Heart of Pizza: Erica D’Arcangelo’s Legacy of Love & Flavor

Rich & Wendy 0:00
Hey, everyone is Rich Bennett. Can you believe it? The show is turning ten this year. I am so grateful for each and every one of you who've tuned in, shared an episode, or even joined the conversation over the years. You're the reason that this podcast has grown into what it is today. Together, we shared laughs, tears and moments that truly matter. So I want to thank you for being part of this journey. Let's make the next ten years even better. Coming to you from the Freedom Federal Credit Union Studios. Harford County Living presents conversations with Rich Bennett. 

Today, I'm going to get kind. 

No, no, no. The truth is. 

Rich Bennett 1:00
Today on Conversations with Rich Bennett. I'm thrilled to have Erica de Arcangelo as my guest. Erika is the author of a story about Pizza, a heartworm tale inspired by her grandfather's journey from the coal mines of Windber, Pennsylvania, to fulfilling his dream of opening a pizzeria. Erica's story beautifully weaves together themes of hope, family and resilience, showcasing the legacy of her family's pizzeria, a place that's been a cornerstone of their community since 1960. So join us as we dive into her journey, her inspiration and, of course, her love of pizza. But before, if you're listening on your computer, do me a favor. Go to a story about pizza dot com and just look at some of the photos on there. And she's got something on there that I think a lot of authors are missing and that's a trailer. So make sure you go on there and just look at the pictures and look at everything as you're listening, Chef. How are you doing, Erica? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 2:05
I'm doing good. Thanks for having me on. 

Rich Bennett 2:08
My pleasure. Yeah. When you sent me the message 

from Pod Madge, I'm a story about. Okay. She knows. She knows what to tug at right there because of it. We're talking about food. Oh, hell, yeah. 

But your book, I. I have another young lady on. Who owned a restaurant and she closed the restaurant and she wrote a book similar to the way you did yours. She She had the recipes in there from her restaurant and then the stories behind them. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 2:46
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 2:47
That's one of the things I love about your book, is the recipes in there. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 2:50
Thank you. 

Rich Bennett 2:51
Even though I'm losing weight, I. I got to try the recipes. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 2:56
Hey, cheat day. 

Rich Bennett 2:58
Thank you. And you eat in moderation. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 3:00
We all deserve a cheat day. 

Rich Bennett 3:03
Yeah, but I got to ask you before you going into the book. There's one recipe in there. We were talking about tomatoes before we started. Why? San Marzano tomatoes and not Roma tomatoes. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 3:17
So this was just the thing from Brazil, Italy, where my grandparents were from and where. From and they use San Marzano as and that's what they grew there. So that's what we use now. 

Rich Bennett 3:29
Now, Have you ever tried rumors to replace it? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 3:32
I think I've tried rumors, but like, we've been making sauce with San Marzano for my whole life. My mom. 

Rich Bennett 3:39
What's sweeter, isn't it? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 3:40
Is is sweeter. And my mom's a master gardener, so she grows ours and knows like we have. I mean, so many of them. And so we grow them and we roast them and peel them. And then she jars them and we use them for the sauces. 

Rich Bennett 3:55
Oh, wow. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 3:56
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 3:57
Oh, so Cannon and every. Wow. Okay, I want to get into the book. But the one thing that puzzles me and it doesn't really puzzle me, I guess, in a way, coming from that part of Pennsylvania, you most people had two places to work at the coal mines or the steel plant. So why was it it was your grandfather that worked in the coal mines, right? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 4:23
Yeah. When he was nine years old, he got pulled out of school. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 4:27
Nine years old. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 4:29
Old. 

Rich Bennett 4:31
Pennsylvania. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 4:32
I mean, this was like, you know, back in 1915 or, you know, it was a really long time ago. But yeah. 

Rich Bennett 4:38
Now I just want to get into this because I love and this is like a family. It is. It's a family history. So was it your grandfather that came over here first, or great grandfather who. Who came over her first? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 4:53
Grandfather, great grandfather, grandfather, my great grandmother, and then my grandfather's three brothers. There were four boys. 

Rich Bennett 5:03
Okay, 

Erica D'Arcangelo 5:04
Yeah. So what wasn't in the book is they had a daughter too, but she passed away as a baby, a one year old baby. And so, yeah, the 

Rich Bennett 5:12
well. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 5:12
family immigrated from abroad. So over to they came in through Ellis Island, New York, and then they, they went over to Berwyn White Coal Company, and they worked over there because a lot of people from abroad. So a lot of immigrants, they they migrated to lumber and they worked in the coal. 

Rich Bennett 5:28
well. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 5:28
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 5:30
I didn't realize that because, I mean, you hear a lot of them going into like New York 

Erica D'Arcangelo 5:34
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 5:34
and Jersey. But I didn't know about, you know. Well, I knew about Pittsburgh, but remembers right outside of Pittsburgh. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 5:41
Yeah, it was. 

Rich Bennett 5:42
Then our. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 5:43
About an hour. And I mean, we went to a grotto and we went to a park where we saw all the family names. And there were so many names that are Windber, family names. 

Rich Bennett 5:52
Mm hmm. Interesting. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 5:54
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 5:55
So how did your grandfather's journey from the coal mines to opening opening a pizzeria actually reflect the broader immigrant experience? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 6:06
So, you know, my when my grandfather came over, they had nothing. Clothes on their back. A suitcase. They showed up. He worked in the mines, in the elements. And he really dreamed of having something that he could pass down to his family. And he loved pizza. So he, I mean, slaved away in the mines and got black lung. Money. I mean, just work so hard his whole life. And then when the mines closed, my grandmother decided to open an Italian market. They sold ice cream. They sold tomato sauces. They sold a bunch of stuff. 

Rich Bennett 6:41
Oh, 

Erica D'Arcangelo 6:42
Yeah. And then they were like, you know, we need to figure out how to make ends meet here. And 

Rich Bennett 6:48
yeah. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 6:48
they're selling pizza out of the market. And then that's how the pizzeria started. 

Rich Bennett 6:53
So they went. Did they keep the market after they opened the pizzeria? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 6:57
For many years, but the piece 

Rich Bennett 6:59
Okay. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 6:59
got so busy and it expanded into like a full Italian restaurant to the point where there is no longer a market. Although in the last few weeks I have been texting my dad and I'm like, We need to bring the market back. 

Leave me alone. 

Rich Bennett 7:16
Yeah. Dad, why can't we buy a box of the pizzas and sell them in stores? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 7:20
Wow. Know this? My mom is a jam company. We sell the jam there, and we have a really nice market there. 

Rich Bennett 7:29
We missed you. So your mother makes her jam as well. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 7:34
Yeah, because she's grows all, you know, the fruit and she has her picking season. Her grandmother owned a store, and so she learned how to bake and cook at a really young age. And then she started the damn company. And she actually started it with my daughter. And my daughter was like ten or 11. They used to pick all the fruit together and they made the jam and they would sell it at the shop and. 

Rich Bennett 7:54
Wow. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 7:54
Yeah. Now she has a bunch of vendors and she has her jam season every year. 

Rich Bennett 7:59
So now it was your. Is it on your mother's side that came from Italy or your father's side? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 8:05
My father said. 

Rich Bennett 8:07
Okay, So where's what side is your mother? Mother's family from? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 8:12
So Wemba was divided into two sides. EastEnders, Italian and the west end of Wemba is Polish, Irish and Slovakian. So my mom, her dad is Irish and her mom is Polish and she was the first person who married into my dad's family that was not Italian. 

Rich Bennett 8:30
Oh, wow. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 8:30
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 8:33
Oh, my God. Family dinners had to be awesome. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 8:38
Oh, yeah. 

Rich Bennett 8:39
Italian food. I'm sure there is probably homemade kebabs as well in the yard. Oh, God. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 8:46
We still have 

Rich Bennett 8:47
Oh. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 8:47
all these we still have a we still have all those foods like on Christmas. We have like your Christmas dinner, but then we have pierogies is one of the other things we. 

Rich Bennett 8:56
Oh. 

All right. I'm coming up to your house next. Yeah, next year for Christmas. I'll keep my Santa suit. Bring it with me. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 9:07
You'll definitely. 

Rich Bennett 9:08
Oh. Oh, God, I that's one thing I, I do miss God. Years ago, my son's mother, her aunt, because she was Polish and always made homemade kabbalah and sauerkraut. Then my best friend who's Italian, they every year for a Christmas they made home, they make homemade ravioli. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 9:33
So do we. 

Rich Bennett 9:35
It's like it's all. It's like a whole day affair. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 9:38
Oh, yeah. Same. 

Rich Bennett 9:40
Oh and I never get any but that he. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 9:45
Pizza. 

Rich Bennett 9:46
He has brought me. So before it just it's him. It's a lot of people will say, what's just cooking now when you're doing that? To me, it's an art. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 9:57
Yeah, it's. 

Rich Bennett 9:58
It is a true art form. All right. So when you guys are making the raviolis is it is same thing all day affair. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 10:06
My mom and dad go to the shop and they spend the whole day and they make like 400 raviolis because we have like, you know, five kids in my family and my parents. Everyone has their spouses now. My siblings are just starting to have kids. And so we have like a full dinner and we eat like we like to eat. 

Rich Bennett 10:24
Yeah. Oh. So actually, how does food and tradition act as a bridge between, like, you know, two generations in your family? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 10:35
I mean, all the recipes and all the traditions have been passed down. Like my grandparents. They did the seven Fish Italian dinner on Christmas Eve and. 

Rich Bennett 10:43
Oh. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 10:45
We've done it our whole lives. We just did it this year and I will do it like we'll continue to do that. 

Rich Bennett 10:52
You are making me hungry. Got. I should have been Italian there. 

Oh, yeah. Then the funny thing is, I mean, it correct me if I'm wrong. Italians love to eat. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 11:05
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 11:06
You can eat, but you look at a lot of them and you want to think, think that. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 11:11
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 11:12
I mean. God. All right. Be honest. Erica, what is your favorite dish? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 11:19
Okay, So my my new favorite dish or my recent one is the pasta visual recipe, and it's in my book. So my grandma made this possible show every Friday, and it was very like, you know, dark red kidney beans, like red kidney beans, virtually any kind of a red sauce, red pepper flakes, Parmesan cheese, a soup. It was delicious. So my dad has kind of evolved this recipe. And he puts hot sausage and he puts vegetables from the garden, carrots and celery, zucchini. And still the Italian need the red sauce, the parmesan cheese, the red pepper flakes. And it is just, like, superb. It is so delicious. 

Rich Bennett 11:56
Hmm. Hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm. Yeah, I think I just put on £5. 

When you started writing the book, what made you decide to add the recipes in there? Because I think it's brilliant. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 12:09
Thank you. Thank you. I mean, I wrote the book and I, my friend, is he makes movies and I said, hey, you should like, look at the book and just honestly tell me what you think. Like, I just want someone who's in different industry. And he said it'd be really cool if you added a couple recipes. And I sort of thought, Oh, every chapter they're making something that we made in my family, so why not just add that in there and have that recipe there? 

Rich Bennett 12:34
Makes sense. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 12:35
Yeah. Yeah, I know. 

Rich Bennett 12:37
I mean. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 12:37
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 12:39
Yeah. I mean, you know what you need to do, I think. Well, number one, the book is at the pizzeria, I take it. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 12:47
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 12:48
Okay. 

I guess. Well, I guess you can incorporate a meal with the book, though. I mean, to ship out to people. That. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 13:00
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 13:03
Yeah, that would be kind of hard. All right, Never mind. Scratch that idea. 

So you rediscovered a bunch of old photos and stories while helping your father with the pizzeria. What was the most surprising or emotional discovery you made during that process? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 13:23
Sure. I mean, one of the ones is I hadn't known that my grandfather was pulled out of school at nine to go work in the coal mines. I thought 

Rich Bennett 13:30
That. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 13:31
he worked there as an adult and I was really surprised about that. Also, just the elements like imagine Western PA in the winter, like we were talking about the weather earlier, a day like today, and you're working in the mines, you're working in the elements all day. I mean, day in and day out. 

Rich Bennett 13:46
The. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 13:47
That was very surprising. I didn't know there was actually a mafia. 

Rich Bennett 13:53
Really? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 13:53
About this little limber mafia that formed after the some of the immigrants came over. I mean, it sort of dissolved pretty quickly after what was happening. 

Rich Bennett 14:04
I was going to say, weren't they everywhere? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 14:06
I mean, 

Rich Bennett 14:06
Well. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 14:06
they were definitely remember and my dad told me a story about how, you know, my grandfather, my great grandfather were building a house out of stone. They would go into the woods and get the stone and the river Mafia showed up and they wanted my great grandfather to give them money. And he went into the house and he said, okay, I'll be right back. I'm getting the money. Went in there, got a gun, it came back out. He said, Get off my property. Don't ever come back. And never they never bother me again. 

Rich Bennett 14:32
Really? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 14:33
Oh, yeah. 

Rich Bennett 14:36
Okay. Yeah. That was a story you heard from your father. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 14:39
Yeah, My dad told me about it. I. 

Rich Bennett 14:41
Now, did your grandfather ever tell you any stories as well? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 14:45
You know, my grandfather did. And he was the most quiet, soft spoken person I had ever met. But he was like tough as nails and a really hard worker. 

Rich Bennett 14:54
Right. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 14:55
He was always just taking care of us if we wanted something like I remember being a kid wanting a kid, and my parents said no. My grandfather drove me an hour to get him, brought it back and was like, There you go. He was that grandfather who put me in his Cadillac, drove me out, got me the cat. 

Rich Bennett 15:10
G. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 15:11
No. 

Rich Bennett 15:13
Oh, yeah. I'm sure if if that would happen to me, my mother probably would have been livid. No, she wouldn't have. She would have accepted the cap. My father would have been like, Why a cat? Not a dog? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 15:26
They were making their heads, but, you know, they let me have it. 

Rich Bennett 15:30
So in the book. What to you? What's your favorite story? And if it's not in the book, what's your favorite story you've heard passed down through the years about your family? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 15:43
So my favorite story in the book is when my grandfather found the building. The building was a it was built, I think, in 1905 or 1909. It was owned by Burned White Coal Company. And he saved this money and he bought the building. It's still the building that the pizza shop is in today. 

Rich Bennett 15:59
It's a beautiful looking building. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 16:01
Yeah, my my dad just renovated it a few years ago, and it still looks like we kept all the old touches, but we updated everything. 

Rich Bennett 16:09
Okay. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 16:10
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 16:12
When I because when I looked at the photos, it the building sort of reminds me of some of the buildings you see down in New Orleans. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 16:21
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 16:22
Yeah, it's got, it's got the little windows at the top, the low ooze in the balcony. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 16:26
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 16:27
Yeah, I just. Oh, God, I love that. So when you were writing this, there 

had to be some moments of the stories where you just started getting emotional, I would think. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 16:42
Oh, absolutely. 

Rich Bennett 16:44
Can you share one with us? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 16:45
Yeah, sure. I mean, when my grandfather passed away, that was really emotional for our entire family. 

Rich Bennett 16:51
Yeah. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 16:52
He was really the head of the family. And he had so many friends and so many grandkids and we all loved him so much. And what he built and what he put there. Everything he did was for his family. It was for us. So that for me, was a really hard loss. I mean, seeing to in the story, the development of what happened in the coal mines. It was really sad because it wasn't just what happened to my family. This happened to a lot of families. 

Rich Bennett 17:18
Yeah. 

So is the title A Story about Pizza, which had her. I love that title. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 17:26
Thank you. 

Rich Bennett 17:27
But when you. Well, I take it it was you that came up with the title. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 17:32
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 17:33
So do some people say, well, wait a minute. Some people might just think it's like a history about pizza. Which in a way it is history. But your family history. Was there other titles you thought of originally and then stuck and thank God you stuck with this one. And then just stuck with a story about pizza. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 17:52
I had that one from the beginning and I never changed it. 

Rich Bennett 17:57
You. I love it. I love it. God. Okay, so with. Because I want to get into other things about the book. Well, not as far as writing the book. What's one of the biggest things you want readers to take away from the book and explain to them why they should purchase the book? I don't want you to give away everything about the book, because otherwise people won't buy it. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 18:24
I mean, every book there's a message that I write that that message of that book is that nothing good comes easy. You're going to experience hardship. That's a part of life. And also not to ever give up on your dream. 

Rich Bennett 18:41
Good message. I love that. Every book that you write. How many books have you written? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 18:45
So this book was my first book, but I have a children's book that I published that is out on the ninth on National Pizza Day. It's based on this book. And then I have a coloring book, which is with the children's book that just came out last week. And then I have 11 more children's books that. 

Rich Bennett 19:00
Really? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 19:01
Yeah. Yeah. Which are all about peace and Italian culture. 

Rich Bennett 19:07
Why now why children's books? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 19:12
So I was it was funny. I finished my book and I was talking to my friend. We were having coffee and she was like, This would be such a beautiful children's story. And I was like, You know what? You're right. It would really teach kids about like, never giving up on your dream and pizza and Italian culture. And we could use Pietro, the main character. And so the first children's book is called Pizza, and it's very much written in children's terms. 

Rich Bennett 19:37
Okay. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 19:37
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 19:39
The thing I love about children's books and you see this a lot and you're doing it quite the opposite way where as you're writing the the children's books from what's not a memoir, because it's not your memoir from this book. The. I've seen this a lot where children's books also can teach adults, whether it's 

message or just some things that some adults forget and a god, I cannot. And you got 11 of them coming out. 

Wow. Plus, you're still doing marketing. You got your own marketing company, too, right? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 20:27
Now we have three. 

Rich Bennett 20:28
Met White. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 20:29
Now with three. 

Rich Bennett 20:31
Erica, when do you find time for yourself? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 20:34
I just organize my time as much as I can. 

Rich Bennett 20:38
So you own three marketing companies, plus Chanel. You're an author preneur. Okay. Anything else you want to throw at us that we don't know anymore? Surprises. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 20:49
I mean, I'm like a fitness fanatic, too, but I don't know. 

Rich Bennett 20:54
Ah, okay, explain this because I mentioned it earlier. It's something with the tie ins and the love for food. 

So I need a fitness guy to. I mean, how hard hard is that? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 21:15
I mean, for me, like, you know, having all this stuff going on, I feel like you can have a lot of stress. And that is my stress relief. Like 32 minutes to an hour a day early in the morning. I mean, I was at the gym every day for years. COVID happened. My husband, thankfully, bought me a Peloton bike. He knew. And I think. 

Rich Bennett 21:36
Wow. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 21:36
4000 workouts or something like that from that. And just I just it really helps me, I think, just to stay balanced. 

Rich Bennett 21:45
Have to give me one of them. Well, they got everything now, don't they? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 21:49
Their whole app. They've got like, I mean, anything you could possibly want they have on the app or work out. 

Rich Bennett 21:55
So I love this now because I've been losing weight. But I'm thinking now if I just start working out properly, I can go back to eating all this good Italian food. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 22:04
That's what I think, too. I can. 

Rich Bennett 22:06
I'm getting tired of cauliflower pizza. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 22:09
Yeah, yeah, yeah, 

Rich Bennett 22:12
I need. I need a hand. Head up to Windber. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 22:16
yeah. 

Rich Bennett 22:16
And actually, what's the name of the pizzeria again? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 22:18
Dear people. 

Rich Bennett 22:20
Yeah, And just give me some. Good, good, good. Peter. All right. And speaking of the pizza, I know I wanted to get into the marketing part about the book, but explain to people why why it's the difference between 

doing air quotes here. People attacking pizza and true Italian pizza and what makes true Italian pizza so much better. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 22:50
The trick was Italian pizza is the history, the family, the love. The way that my grandfather made it is the way that he was taught to make it in Italy. The recipes that are in the pizza place are recipes from Italy. The ingredients are locally sourced. A lot of the stuff comes from the garden that my mom has, and that was the same when my grandparents, my great grandmother, she had a garden. So I think that's a really important thing. Like the meatballs for the meatball appetizer, their homemade the chicken cutlets or homemade the rolls for the meatball sandwiches, they're all homemade. We make those in-house. We use a special flour on brominated unbleached flour, which is the the healthier flour. So we roll the dough fresh every single day. We grate. 

Rich Bennett 23:36
Oh, I'll 

Erica D'Arcangelo 23:37
This is all stuff from the beginning that my grandfather did. You know, we make the sauce. We have a special spice recipe for the sauce. And the stuff is really made with so much love and care. My dad goes to Italy every year and he thinks about, like, you know, recipes. Like, you know, 

Rich Bennett 23:53
write. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 23:54
my great Aunt Rose, she made the pork at the pork Porchetta pork cut meat. We do the pork sandwiches. And after she passed, her son has been making it. So he comes in every week and makes that. So. It's just it's about the family. 

Rich Bennett 24:10
Okay, so. Was there any recipes that you wanted to put in the book? But the family just said, no, you cannot put like their secret recipes only for the family. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 24:23
I mean, any of the pizza ones. 

Rich Bennett 24:26
Okay. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 24:26
Those were not going to be you know, that wasn't going to go over. So we didn't put the pizza one in there like, you know, the sauce recipe or the exact cheese combinations. But now the pizza place, I mean, started with plain pepperoni. Now there's 16 different pizzas. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 24:43
Wow. 

Is it all a case of truth telling? Pizza is the thin crust, right that you can fault? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 24:51
Yeah, we do the thin crust, but we do a rectangular pizza and it's 15 slices. It's not super thick. It's just sort of in the middle and then do a round thin pizza called a Mike's Pie, because my brother, he wouldn't eat the the square pizza when he was little. So my mom sold the mike's pie. So now we have the mike's pie. 

Rich Bennett 25:12
Oh, God. I got to get up there. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 25:14
You need to come in. 

Rich Bennett 25:16
Oh, geez. I just. I can't think of the guy's name that goes around to all the different pizza places. I think he's from those bar stools. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 25:26
Dave going. 

Rich Bennett 25:28
Yeah. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 25:28
I've been smoking them online. 

Rich Bennett 25:30
Okay. But oh, God, it just when he goes into these places. 

Okay. God, I got to try that. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 25:39
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 25:40
Because I got to see a guy to get the wind burn. Try yours, because I got to compare it to the place here. And, Pippy, if you're listening to me, you still have the best pizza out there. It just, you know, that true Italian pizza and something. And I've always told people this. When you go to, again, a true Italian restaurant, I don't know what it is. You could tell if it's a true Italian restaurant because they're not just the pizza, but, you know, any pasta dishes or whatever, you are going to get more than what you can eat. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 26:15
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 26:15
Is that true? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 26:15
Yeah. Yeah, for sure. 

Rich Bennett 26:17
Is that a family thing, you think? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 26:19
It's a huge portion size. I know on Thursdays we still do a $10 tray of pizza, 15 slices. You huge pizza. 

Rich Bennett 26:28
Wow. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 26:29
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 26:31
You're listening in on the conversations with Rich Bennett. We'll be right back. 

People that know me know that I love going to Richardson Farms. Not just the store, but even when we do weddings at the barn, the place is amazing. So with the store, whether you're grabbing fresh produce, stocking up on groceries, or indulging in their hot food and deli, this family owned gym has been a staple of morale for generations. let me tell you, the food. Oh, incredible. I cannot get enough of their smoked barbecue beef brisket. It's tender, flavorful and just melt in your mouth. Pair that with some of their homemade sides and you've got a meal that will leave you coming back for more. And it's not just about the barbecue. Richardson Farms has fresh, never frozen poultry. Daily deli specials and produce straight from their fields. So whether your meal plan for the week, you need catering or looking for something amazing for dinner tonight, stop by Richardson Farms. They're open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Daily. And trust me, your taste buds will. Thank you. To find out more, just go to Richardson Farms Dot net. Again, that's Richardson Farms Dot net. So when you started writing the book, first of all, why did you decide to write? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 28:04
Well, I was going into the shop with my father. I mean, we lived in Tampa. My dad had heart surgery. My family and I were like, you know, we're going to go home for the year. Just spend some time help. We got there. My dad was just recovering from surgery. I said, Hey, it'd be good for you to get out of the house. Let's go to the shop a couple of days a week. We'll go together. I'll do your marketing. And he was so grumpy. He said, I don't believe in marketing. I said, Dad, I'll just help you for free. Just come on, let's go. So we started driving, and it's like a 20 minute drive. And he was telling me all the stories and he would tell people who came in the stories, and I'd look at the memorabilia and look at the pictures. And I just thought, this is a really inspiring story. Like, I really write this down. 

Rich Bennett 28:50
How long did it take you to write? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 28:52
Took me about a year and a half, but after I was done, I set the book down and I had never published a book, so I didn't know what to do with it. So I just let it sit for four months because I was like, What? What do you do with this now stuff? 

Rich Bennett 29:04
Yeah. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 29:04
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 29:06
So when it when it came to writing the book because you didn't go to school for writing, you went to school for marketing, right? Now in the marketing part? Well, we've been writing copy for like radio and all is completely different for writing a book. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 29:20
Oh, yeah. I mean, I've been writing copy and marketing for 20 years, but like, ads is really different writing. 

Rich Bennett 29:26
So what was the biggest challenge? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 29:29
I think it was just making sure that things were succinct and in an outline and clear and there were connections between things and that it was simple for people to read. And that really made me like leaving it and going back to it and leaving it and going back to it and then, you know, adding in to the outline. So it's just 

Rich Bennett 29:48
Right? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 29:49
process. 

Rich Bennett 29:51
You say you set it down for four months because you didn't know how to publish it. So are you self-published or did you go through a publishing company? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 29:57
So I decided to self-publish. 

Rich Bennett 30:00
Okay, 

Erica D'Arcangelo 30:00
And 

Rich Bennett 30:00
good. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 30:01
I self-published through Ingram SPARC. Which is really great because they do distribution. And now I'm like, I know a lot more now because I published that one and the children's book is on pre-order and like now I'm kind of like, I'm a little bit more seasoned on it. 

Rich Bennett 30:17
So with the children's books, you. Are you thinking about doing a Christmas one? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 30:20
Yes, absolutely. 

Rich Bennett 30:22
Are you really? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 30:22
Yeah, absolutely. 

Rich Bennett 30:25
Well, I helped Andy get Dan towards Baltimore. Up towards Baltimore. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 30:29
I mean, I go for Christmas every year. I go to pay. I mean, I'm in pay quite a bit because I film a lot of content for the shop. 

Rich Bennett 30:37
Okay. Only reason I'm asking is because every year where I do sing, I always bring a children's author in actually four nights, and I'll bring a different children's author in every night to read the book. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 30:49
Let's do it. I can release like, maybe beginning of December, and then we drive up from Florida for Christmas because we stay for some time. So we could stop in Baltimore. 

Rich Bennett 31:00
Okay. All right. Yeah, definitely. We'll hook up. You're. I'm sure you're on Facebook. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 31:06
yeah. 

Rich Bennett 31:07
We'll hook up. Now, granted, it's not an Italian restaurant where I do it. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 31:12
Took. 

Rich Bennett 31:13
It's a form. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 31:15
Farms. 

Rich Bennett 31:18
But there's a restaurant inside the store and it's awesome. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 31:21
I look. 

Rich Bennett 31:21
Although we do do our club does do a pizza. We're seeing a. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 31:25
Oh, I love that, too. 

Rich Bennett 31:27
Oh, yeah. We just don't read the stories there because it's it's a small it's a small pizza shop. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 31:33
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 31:33
But yeah. Oh, yeah. I would love to have you. Do I just. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 31:37
Well. 

Rich Bennett 31:38
All right. We're going to hook up for that. So. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 31:40
I'll bring Jim. 

Rich Bennett 31:42
Oh, God. All right. What's your favorite jam that you guys made? Did your mother make? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 31:48
How. 

Rich Bennett 31:50
Helping you. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 31:52
Cream cheese and crackers. It's so good. 

Rich Bennett 31:57
I've I've heard of, you know, that was a sheep or something. Pepper or jam, but. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 32:03
Pepperidge Farm. 

Rich Bennett 32:05
Yeah, but helping you, Peach. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 32:07
And she does a raspberry jalapeno. That's delicious. The strawberry jam from Pennsylvania, like Western farms, tastes totally different than any other strawberry jam. I love the strawberry jam. 

Rich Bennett 32:22
Oh. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 32:22
Yeah. There's one called Quince. It's my husband's favorite. He loves that one. 

Rich Bennett 32:27
You know why? The funny thing? We have a quince bush in my backyard. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 32:31
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 32:32
We are always, which came from my great grandmother's house. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 32:36
Wow. 

Rich Bennett 32:37
Yeah. My mother always said the thing's got roots to China. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 32:40
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 32:41
I mean, I literally mowed that thing down three times and it keeps coming back. But me and my wife had no idea that you can eat the little fruits from it. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 32:52
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 32:54
Ooh. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 32:55
Yeah. It's like it's it's like the mix between, like, an apple and a pair. 

Rich Bennett 32:58
Yeah. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 32:59
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 33:00
It's a big. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 33:01
Now. 

Rich Bennett 33:03
All right. All right. So when do that? When do the fruits come in on that? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 33:07
The quince is like I think later in the summer. I know the first one is 

Rich Bennett 33:11
Okay. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 33:11
area that's like May, early June is strawberry, and then later in the summer you have grape, she has cherry jam, she does blueberry, she has a lot of different flavors of jam. 

Rich Bennett 33:24
I'm going to have to start poor because we've never picked the fruit from it. We just figure we let it stay there, let the birds eat it, the fox or whoever wants to eat it because we didn't think it was edible. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 33:36
No, it's delicious. I do. I make sourdough bread, and we do like butter on a quince jam, and it comes out of the oven. It's incredible. 

Rich Bennett 33:43
Oh, 

Erica D'Arcangelo 33:44
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 33:44
okay. So any plans on doing just a recipe book, 

Erica D'Arcangelo 33:50
So my mom and I are working on a recipe book for the jam company right now and having her put the recipes together. And I'm involving my daughter because she's really a good cook and she's in college. So I don't know if it's her first priority, but, 

Rich Bennett 34:04
right? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 34:05
you know, we want to I would love to have that out by next season. 

Rich Bennett 34:09
See, Here's what you tell your daughter. Say, look, we need you to help do this since you like cooking. But, you know, throw a marketing twist in there since she's going to college for marketing, just say. But you can only help cook. It may help us make it if you market it. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 34:26
Yeah. I mean, she's she does outreach for me for the book, like she does outreach for libraries and bookstores and stuff like that. And she's really good at it. 

Rich Bennett 34:35
All right. So with your book, you've done something that I keep telling authors they need to do a trailer. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 34:44
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 34:45
Tell authors how important, Dad. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 34:48
It is probably one of the main ways that I have been able to sell books. I was lucky. We owned a video production company. My husband is amazing at making videos and he made it for me as a surprise. 

Rich Bennett 35:01
Oh, really? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 35:02
Yeah. And funny enough, we're doing a series on family, on pizzerias, and he just did the trailer for My Family's Pizzeria, and we're going to have a full episode for that whole 30 minute episode. 

Rich Bennett 35:14
Oh, wow. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 35:14
Just can't we just put the trailer out this weekend for it? 

Rich Bennett 35:18
Oh, that's awesome. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 35:19
Yeah, it actually came out really nice. It's. It's me interviewing my dad at the shop. We have a bunch of footage of the shop of the History of Windber, and it's going to be a really cool episode. 

Rich Bennett 35:28
Okay. I think I just saw that because you have it listed as a podcast, right? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 35:33
Well, we also launched our I launched a pizza podcast and I put my parents on. 

Rich Bennett 35:37
Okay. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 35:38
It was kind of like my first like, okay, let's see how this goes, you know? But it ended up going really good. But I'll have to send you that. If you go on like the the Facebook or the Instagram for Dorks pizza, 

Rich Bennett 35:50
Right. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 35:50
we just put the trailer out and you can see it, but it's like, I think it's like a one minute trailer for that. 

Rich Bennett 35:57
So you're going to keep the podcast going now. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 35:58
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 35:59
Okay, good. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 36:00
I'm interviewing like family on pizzerias, really good pizza makers. Like that's going to be the the topic of that we're doing. 

Rich Bennett 36:09
Oh. Strictly virtual. Or are you going around recording in person as well? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 36:15
Now it's virtual. But the goal is that we're going to go around and record because we want to do a series on family owned pizzeria. So the podcast will be part of it. And then we'll, after the podcast will pick the ones we want and we'll do a full series, we'll do a full episode with them. 

Rich Bennett 36:32
That's a great idea. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 36:33
Yeah, we're excited about it. It's going to be really fun. And, you know, like I said, we recorded the first episode over Christmas break and 

Rich Bennett 36:40
Yeah. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 36:40
put the trailer out, so I'm really happy about it. 

Rich Bennett 36:44
I have a funny feeling this could lead to other books, you know, other people's stories about pizza. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 36:52
Oh, there's so many. 

Rich Bennett 36:54
Yeah. 

Oh. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 36:57
70,000 family owned pizzerias in America right now, and they all have stories. 

Rich Bennett 37:04
How many? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 37:05
It's 72,000. I looked it up online. 

Rich Bennett 37:10
Wow. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 37:11
Yeah. And I mean, these it's such like the people are so like, you know, beautiful and they have like these very inspiring histories and learning where they're from and about their recipes. It's it's just really an interesting topic. Like, I would rather do that than I think anything else. 

Rich Bennett 37:29
Ooh, God, I cannot wait for this. That show you've already done the first episode. How. How often are you guys going to be releasing episodes, or do you want to release episodes? How many do you wonder? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 37:42
We want. 

Rich Bennett 37:43
How often do you want to release? Let's hear. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 37:46
Okay, We want to start with 12 and we want to release one a week. For the season. So we did the first one just because we're trying to get like the, you know, the how we want to do it and 

Rich Bennett 37:57
Right. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 37:57
we want to film and all that stuff. We're trying to decide if we want to make Italy a part of the episode, which is interesting, but it also adds a lot more of cost wise. So we have to see. And then once we have 12, we go have probably released the first full one and then one every week and we'll see how. 

Rich Bennett 38:14
Okay. Oh, that's great. Let me know when you guys are going to be doing that. I just. That's great idea. I don't think ideas matter. I don't think there's any other pockets out there where they do that. Talking to the different pizzerias, with the exception of that David guy. But he's just eating the pizzas. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 38:38
Yeah. I just, you know, my family's story inspired me so much that I was like, We want to talk to more pizzerias. 

Rich Bennett 38:46
So with you're with the book, even though you've been doing marketing for a while, what was the biggest challenge when it came to marketing for the book? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 38:55
It was learning how to market a book. What I had never. 

Rich Bennett 38:58
The big difference. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 39:00
Yeah, it's a big difference because you don't know who buys your book. 

Rich Bennett 39:03
Right. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 39:04
Like Amazon doesn't tell you. So you're not really sure you know how. So it's like I had to throw every single tool at it and then figure out, okay, like where are the sales coming from? Who is buying this. And it has been really like a big learning experience. And, you know, there's a lot of press and PR, a lot of, you know, press releases and podcasts. And it's ten times the work that you think it's going to be. 

Rich Bennett 39:29
Yeah. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 39:30
So. 

Rich Bennett 39:31
Well, you. I'm sorry. Go ahead. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 39:33
Okay. 

Rich Bennett 39:34
No, because you something else you did. And when people go to your website, they can see when they go on the press. But I don't see a lot of authors doing this. The press releases. 

Here it is. This is your first book. And I mean you are. Excuse my language, but you're kicking ass with it. It's. I'm looking on Amazon now. Of course Amazon doesn't. It's not like it doesn't give you a ranking the rankings of all the other places like Barnes and Noble. But three number 386 right now in pizza making money comes a box. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 40:14
We were number one, I think in Italian culture when we went to the book first came out. 

Rich Bennett 40:19
When it came out. Yeah. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 40:20
We're happy and we just have like, you know, just keep promoting it. The press releases a marketing tool because we have 300 pickups and you're everywhere online. 

Rich Bennett 40:33
When it comes to your marketing companies. Companies? That just sounds weird. You're marketing companies, which I mean, what's the main thing you guys market? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 40:42
So the first one I've had for 15 years, it's web content development. It's really simple websites, SEO, content creation really ought to be. The second company is called V-12 Strategies, and that's a technology company. So if you want like an automated tool for marketing or we have like a website protection and maintenance where that every day updates that kind of thing and then create want is the third one that we launched this past year and that's we do like high end Hollywood quality video production. 

Rich Bennett 41:16
Like with your video. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 41:18
We do those kind of videos. 

Rich Bennett 41:20
So have you thought about not necessarily another company, but doing something where you can offer your services to authors? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 41:31
Maybe down the road. But I have a lot on my plate right now. And, you know, I hate to say this, but my passion is with pizza like that is. 

Rich Bennett 41:40
Right. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 41:40
You know, it's it's just what I really want to do. I want to talk to pizza owners. I want to promote pizzerias. I want people to know about family owned places and people that make really good pizza. I want to travel around and eat pizza Like that's what's what I wanted to write about it. 

Rich Bennett 41:56
Okay, So with your love for pizza, is there a God? This could be 

man, I might be asking a loaded question here when it comes to the pie, kiss your pockets or even the book, or just going to a place and trying the pizza. Is there any particular place or person that you want to just sit down and talk to and try their pizza? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 42:29
So, I mean, I have my top ten favorite. 

Rich Bennett 42:32
Okay. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 42:33
And I would love to interview every single person on my top ten and just sit down with them because those are my favorite. Like I have like pizza media. It's in Philadelphia. I love that piece. There's when we lived in Jersey, there's a place called Reed's Organic Farm, and they do pizzas on every Friday, and their pizzas are just very like farm to table, locally sourced ingredients, wood fired, very light pizzas. They're just so delicious. We have one down here in Clearwater called Christina's. It's my dad's favorite pizza besides his own pizzeria. 

Rich Bennett 43:09
Right. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 43:10
Absolutely delicious. So I think it's going to be like my first like, can I try to get my top ten on interviews? 

Rich Bennett 43:18
Okay. So when it comes to Ireland, here we are back talking about food again. So when he goes in, because pizza people can be very creative when it comes to pizza. 

Omega. Some listeners yell at me for this. Is there something you should not ever, no matter what, put on pizza? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 43:42
I personally don't like ham on pizza. 

Rich Bennett 43:46
Oh, that's not the answer I was expecting, but okay. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 43:50
My favorite one. But other than that, like, my dad makes us pizza. We call it the Emory Special. And it's like black olives, hot peppers, pepperoni, a little bit of hard salami. it's like one of my favorite pieces. 

Rich Bennett 44:06
Oh, okay. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 44:08
A good pizza. We also make a pizza with the jam like we don't. 

Rich Bennett 44:12
Oh. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 44:13
But it's a Filipino peach pizza. 

Rich Bennett 44:17
Well, I bet that's good. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 44:18
So good. Fresh peaches, fresh jalapenos, Kalapana, peach jam. You put, like, a sharp cheddar on it. Maybe like a fresh mozzarella. It is a fabulous pizza. It's a it's, you know, a sweet but a spicy pizza. It's really, really good. 

Rich Bennett 44:36
All right. So you said no ham on pizza, but what about pineapple? I'm thinking of the Hawaiian pizza. You. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 44:44
I personally love pineapple, and I've had pineapple with like pepperoni baked on pizza. And it was really good. I think as an Italian, you're not really allowed to like pineapple on as as as. 

Rich Bennett 44:58
What's what's the strangest thing that you've seen on pizza? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 45:03
So this is my mom's favorite. It's anchovies. 

Rich Bennett 45:07
Oh, yuck. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 45:08
Putin. Yes, well, we have that is one of our pizzas. But I personally don't like anchovies on pizza. 

Rich Bennett 45:15
Yeah. I just don't like it. No, no. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 45:18
I know. 

Rich Bennett 45:20
All right, So I'm probably going to blow you away here. I think the strangest thing I've seen on pizza. And I think it was my cousins did it. They live in England. Baked beans. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 45:33
Oh, I've heard of that. Yeah. It is strange, right? 

Rich Bennett 45:36
Yeah. I don't I don't think. And when they were over here, they ordered pizza, but I think they ordered it with. With no cheese. Was it No cheese or no tomato sauce. I think it was no GS because I mean, I mean, you can replace the tomato sauce of Alfredo sauce. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 45:56
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 45:57
But yeah, I think it was a no no cheese but yeah, baked beans on pizza like, Oh I don't like baked beans period. But definitely not. I love pizza. So tell everybody where they can get the book 

and actually go ahead and tell your websites for your marketing as well. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 46:20
Oh, thanks. Okay, so look, a story about pizza dot com. I think pretty much all the social media handles are a story about pizza or a story about pizza. Pizza, Shop dorks. Pizza. It looks like Darth Vader. So dorks pizza dot com at dorks pizza. That's all the handles. If you want to see a lot of pizza cutting videos, go to the talk. There's some 

Rich Bennett 46:45
Oh, 

Erica D'Arcangelo 46:46
viral pizza cutting videos on there. Julie Interesting. The websites for the marketing, it's a create one dot com is the easiest one so 

Rich Bennett 46:55
okay. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 46:55
that they can find it for other ones there too. 

Rich Bennett 46:59
Is it one spelled out or create? You say create one or create one. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 47:03
Create want. 

Rich Bennett 47:05
Want to. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 47:06
Anti. 

Rich Bennett 47:07
Okay. Okay, So those of you listen, when you go to the other, a story about pizza. Make sure you read the blog and everything, too, because. Oh, God. Yeah. Yeah. A lot of great stuff on there. And those those of you that are authors, take look at it because you can get some great ideas on how to market your book as well. And when you purchase the book, not if, but when you purchase the book. Make Make sure if you read it, make sure you leave a full review, whether it be on Amazon. Good read wherever you can leave reviews and then purchase another copy for someone else. I don't know if you can do this because of the research. Well, yeah, I guess you can. Because of the recipes. Any Any any plans on turn it into an audiobook as well. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 48:05
I 

Rich Bennett 48:06
We. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 48:06
would love to and I would love to get it published in Italian because my parents, yeah, they go to Italy and they give it its gifts. So they've been asking. 

Rich Bennett 48:15
Do you know? It may not be too hard, 

Erica D'Arcangelo 48:17
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 48:17
I think, for especially being self-published. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 48:21
Yeah. Yeah, I think so. I think that's the next step. But also the children's books coming out in less than a month. So I'm promoting that right now. And that's probably my, my main thing and the coloring book. 

Rich Bennett 48:31
Right. So if you do it in audio form, would you do the audio or would you have your father do it or somebody else or what? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 48:40
I would love if I could talk my father into it. I don't know if he would or not, but I feel like his voice would be really nice. If you see the trailer for the show. It's 

Rich Bennett 48:49
Uh huh. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 48:50
talking and it's just you could see how that voice would fit in the book. 

Rich Bennett 48:56
I think he needs. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 48:57
Yeah, I'm going to I'm going to make a list like set up the market. 

Audio for my blog is. 

Rich Bennett 49:07
Before I get to my last question, is there anything you would like to add? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 49:12
I mean, I really just want to thank you for having me on. I really enjoyed being on your podcast and talking to you. 

Rich Bennett 49:18
Oh, it's an honor. And the door is open. Well, you got to come back all because you got all these children, children's books that you need to talk about. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 49:26
I want to and I want to do the event with you. I think it'd be really, really fun. 

Rich Bennett 49:29
Oh, that would be a blessing. And look, you get the. I know I don't look like Santa because I shaved everything off. Get your picture taken with Santa to. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 49:37
Great. That's. 

Rich Bennett 49:40
Yeah. I mean, it's it's a good time. We it's funny because before this year, my busiest year was the year of COVID. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 49:49
Wow. 

Rich Bennett 49:50
Yeah, because I did a lot of Zoom calls. My neighbor actually built a workshop, a say in his workshop outside, and we cars were driving by and people were lined up around the block, social distancing. And it it was a great time. And then this year I think this is yeah, since COVID, I've I can't tell you how many kids I mean, hundreds of kids that I've seen from the places I did seeing and adults. The the thing is, I don't know what it is, but every time around Christmas time, I don't care how old you are, how big you are, people always when they get their picture taken with Santa. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 50:37
Oh, yeah. Yeah. We do have a Santa event at the shop, too, and it is busy. 

Rich Bennett 50:42
Oh, it's just it's it's magic. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 50:45
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 50:45
I think, 

Erica D'Arcangelo 50:46
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 50:47
you know, I mean, as kids, we always believed in them. Now we are in so. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 50:53
Christmas spirit going. 

Rich Bennett 50:55
Oh, yeah. Yeah, without a doubt. So what is the next big thing for Erica? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 51:03
I mean, it's going to have to be the the Pizza podcast and the children's series and the series on the family owned pizzerias. 

Rich Bennett 51:13
That's it. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 51:13
I think that's yeah, I think I'm good for that for the net for next year. I feel like that's going to be my focus. 

Rich Bennett 51:20
No, no. What about the cookbook for the James? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 51:22
Oh, gosh. Okay. That's what. As. 

Rich Bennett 51:28
I think you know what? I think people hate coming on my podcast because I'm always giving them work. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 51:33
I'm going to climb as soon as we hang up when I call my mom and my dad. 

Rich Bennett 51:38
Oh. All So with that first episode you did with your mom and dad, how hard was it to convince them to do that? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 51:47
They are so supportive. They were like totally willing to do it. Anything that I asked, they're like. They're just my biggest supporters. But getting them kind of corralled to sit down and my dad was just getting over being sick. And so he was like, you know. He was trying not to call off. And so that part was kind of interesting. And it was my first podcast. So I was like, All right, let's let's see how this goes, you know? 

Rich Bennett 52:12
So if I want to run something by you. This is totally up to you. But after you record those 12 episodes before you release. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 52:22
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 52:23
I want to well, I want to welcome you and your parents onto my show. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 52:28
Oh, yeah. 

Rich Bennett 52:29
To talk about it and plug it. If they're comfortable doing it, I have no problem doing it. I love promoting other podcasts or. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 52:37
Oh, listen, I would love that. They are so like my podcast with them was like, I think it's going to be my favorite one. Like it was they. They told me how they met, you know, when they were teenagers and they met at the pizza shop, because the pizza shop was like a high school hangout. And my mom worked there since she was a teenager. So it was like it was really sweet and I think you would enjoy them. 

Rich Bennett 52:58
It was meant to be. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 52:59
For sure. 

Rich Bennett 53:01
Wow. Well, Erica, I want to thank you so much. Those of you listening again, make sure you get it. It's a story about pizza after you read it again, leave a full review and purchase some more for friends and head up to Windber, Pennsylvania, to D. I'm going to get wrong. Is it just dark Pits Pizzeria? 

Erica D'Arcangelo 53:26
Pizza. You got it. 

Rich Bennett 53:27
And God. Try that, Peter. And of course, get in touch with me. Let me let me know how it was, I guarantee you, is probably going to be your favorite pizza. Eric. What's ahead. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 53:40
Pizza. 

Rich Bennett 53:41
Erica, thanks so much. 

Erica D'Arcangelo 53:43
Thank you. 

Rich Bennett 53:46
Thank you for listening to the conversations with Rich Bennett. I hope you enjoy today's episode and learn something from it as I did. If you'd like to hear more conversations like this, be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode. And if you have a moment, I'd love if you could leave a review. It helps us reach more listeners and share more incredible stories. Don't forget to connect with us on social media or visit our website at conversations with Rich Bennett. Com for updates, giveaways and more. Until next time, take care. Be kind and keep the conversations going.