It’s Been Gone for Five Years Now, But I Still Miss PizzARoma in Owensboro

Every Friday night. For years. That was our hangout. Though there were other locations in town, the PizzARoma location on Carter Road in Owensboro was our favorite.

Just the other day during my radio show, PizzARoma came up in a conversation that took place off air. A listener called in to add Mary Ann Leucht to our list of March 27th birthday names. Because I was a huge fan of PizzARoma, I recognized Mary Ann's name immediately. She and her husband Bob owned PizzARoma. In fact, Bob opened the first location way back in 1963. Over the years, it became one of the most popular pizza places in town. It remained that way for over five decades.

My friends and I loved PizzARoma and the Carter Road location quickly became our favorite Friday night hangout. That particular restaurant was different from the other locations. It had a massive fireplace on one wall, Italian-inspired painted murals on others (and the outside) and the simplest, yet most effective way to explain to the sizes of pizzas they offered.

The decor, as mentioned above, was charming, quaint, inviting and fun.

If we were interested in the game on the TV (a couple of our friends were diehard UK Wildcat fans), we'd sit by the TV and fireplace. If we weren't watching a game, we'd ask for a booth by the front windows.

Sadly, in late 2014, PizzARoma announced it would be closing that Carter Street location and moving to Wesleyan Park Plaza. The Leuchts announced the restaurant would be taking over the location of the short-lived Mirko Pasta. When the new PizzARoma opened, we featured that new location in our popular 'Bucket List' series hosted by Dave Spencer.

Luckily for fans of the Carter Road crew, most of those employees made the move to the new location. While the decor was different, the faces and the pizza were the same!

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PizzARoma lived in its final location for roughly four years. However, on August 16th, 2019, they announced they would be permanently closing after 56 years in business in Owensboro. PizzARoma had an amazing run here in town and it's certainly missed. I pass by where that former Carter Road location used to sit multiple times a week. It's just not the same. I vividly remember our Friday nights on that block- the fireplace going, college basketball on the TV screens and fennel seeds layered on the tops of our pizzas.

Thanks for the memories, PizzARoma and thanks for years and years of some of the best pizza Owensboro has ever seen and tasted.