La Tino'z Pizza opens up its third location in Blyth
BY SCOTT STEPHENSON
Move over Blyth Festival, La Tino’z Pizza is the hot new act on Queen Street!
The village’s brand-new pizzeria made its saucy debut last week, pulling in an absolutely epic opening night crowd. Cars and trucks jockeyed for one of the premium parking positions directly in front of the new pizza place, and the sidewalks were all abuzz with pedestrians balancing precarious towers of white square boxes in their arms as they trode gingerly through the snow as they headed towards home.
Obviously, freshly-minted La Tino’z patrons ordered from all over the reasonably priced menu - the chicken shawarma poutine has proved instantly popular, and the lightly-breaded hot wings were practically flying out of the fryer. But the undeniable star of the opening night show was the one-time-only doorcrasher deal - a three-topping, medium pizza for $6.99, no tax, all-in. Such a deal will likely not be seen again in our lifetimes, and the excitement in the air was palpable. In just two days, hundreds of guests came out to La Tino’z to try the new pies in town.
It was an undeniably busy start for the burgeoning business, but owner Trupal Patel and his well-trained crew weren’t worried about things getting hectic - after all, this isn’t their first pizza rodeo. This team already has two other La Tino’z under their belt - one in Erin, and one in Dundalk.
Both of those establishments have become bona fide hits with their respective local populations, and now Patel is hoping to achieve the same thing in Blyth.
Like so many of the entrepreneurs that have set up shop in Huron County over the years, Patel first discovered Blyth while en route to Goderich for a family vacation. “At that time, we came across this town, and we decided to roam in here, just to have a look at it. We thought that a pizza place would be a really nice option here. And that’s it. We decided to just give it a try.”
The La Tino’z pizza philosophy is all about affordable quality. “We are hoping to provide the most competitive prices in the market.” They may have just opened, but Patel has already been receiving some pretty positive feedback. “Our slices and combo deals start at just $4.99 - that’s, like, a really good deal,” he declared.
Patel has only been in the pizza business for three years, but he’s long been interested in pursuing a career in the edible arts. “I always wanted to have a business, and food is like, my passion to me.” He emigrated from India in 2021, and it didn’t take long for him to decide on a business plan. “The day I came to Canada, I just saw people. People who just want pizza. As like, their day-to-day goal. They prefer it - breakfast, lunch, and dinner, every day.” As a vegetarian, Patel’s favourite pizza topping combo is sun-dried tomato, mushroom, and green pepper, but he also has some ideas for potential specials inspired by the slices available in his home state of Gujarat, like butter paneer pizza.
Patel may not be quite as obsessed with our nation’s favourite flavour triangle as we are just yet, but he’s getting there. “I do love pizza! Not just making it - eating it too!”