Twenty-one years, four months, and a handful of days. This is precisely why April’s Pizzeria in White Sulphur Springs is a local culinary institution in the Greenbrier Valley.
Opening on Jan 1, 1993, April’s has severed delicious pizza, sandwiches, pasta, and salads to an unthinkable number of customers. Even during the derecho and other natural disasters, April’s cranked out the food to locals and rescue crews alike.
I have visited April’s Pizzeria on numerous occasions over the last decade. In fact, I once ate at April’s back in the mid-1990’s when I visited a college roommate’s family who lived then and still lives in the area. I have always loved the comfortable atmosphere with no pretense. According to longtime owner, Lisa Long, at April’s, everyone is family and no one leaves hungry. Clearly, this is my kind of joint!
I love reading menus, devouring the descriptions of every single dish. My son, Alden, is the opposite. Like most 8 year olds, his eyes search quickly for the one thing he is sure to love: Cheese Pizza. At April’s, he doesn’t even have to look anymore, as he announced to the smiling, super-friendly waitress, “Three Cheese Pizza, please!”
For me, there is nothing better than the April’s Special Turnover. Often called a calzone, the turnover is quite similar. It’s an Italian filled oven bread, originating in Naples, and shaped like a folded pizza. A typical turnover is baked in the oven and is stuffed with Italian meats, such as salami, pepperoni or ham, as well as fresh vegetables and cheeses.
The April’s Special Turnover that arrived at my table was piping hot and stuffed to the max with bubbling mozzarella cheese, delicious sausage and pepperoni, fresh green peppers and sweet onion, and, for a nice kick, tangy banana peppers. As if this beautiful meal needed anything else, I was given a fantastic tomato sauce that I eagerly poured on top. Needless to say, I was in food heaven from the first bite.
To top off this delicious meal, Lisa offered up hand-dipped ice cream cones. We had vanilla, butter pecan and cotton candy. Guess which one was Alden’s? Ha!
April’s Pizzeria is a perfect choice for quality, delicious food in a casual location. It’s easy to see why both locals and visitors alike keep returning to this White Sulphur Springs fixture.
Visit Lisa and the awesome staff at April’s Pizza at 705 E Main Street in White Sulphur Springs. You can also contact them at 304-536-1011. Buon appetito!
– Coy A. Flowers, LBSPY #53 (May 5-June 2, 2014)
HASHTAGWV ART & ENTERTAINMENT Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, Christina Entenmann-Edwards has been a WV resident since September 2008. She was born and raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut, and is no stranger to hard work and the entrepreneurial spirit. In 2006, she graduated from Quinnipiac University (Hamden, Connecticut), Cum Laude, with a B.A. in History. In 2010, she graduated with an M.B.A. from Liberty University (Lynchburg, Virginia). In February 2012, Christina launched HashtagWV as the area’s first full-color, free arts and entertainment tabloid + online platform. Christina completed the Leadership West Virginia class of 2021, which is an innovative program that grows, engages, and mobilizes leaders to ignite a life passion to move West Virginia forward.