TALE OF A. PAPANO

 
     Back in the late 1800's, a Sicilian farm hand named Alfonso Papano decided he wanted to see the world.  He struck north, first to see the glory of Rome, then the wonders of Florence, then to see if the mountains of the Alps really did stretch all the way to the sky.

     While hiking through the Alps he came across a German, Dieter Bruss, going in the opposite direction.  They struck up a fast friendship, and Herr Bruss invited Alfonso to visit him in his hometown of Munich.  He consented, and the two had a fine time together.  On the day of his visit, Alfonso prepared the farewell meal to thank his hosts.  He shaped a mound of bread dough into a flat circle, mixed some of his secret spices with a rich sauce made from tomatoes picked fresh from Mrs. Bruss' garden, and spread it on the dough.  He added some of Herr Bruss' famous sausage, some freshly made soft cheese, and baked it in the oven.


     He removed it, cut it into wedges, and served it to his hosts.  They were amazed at the rich, zesty flavor and couldn't get enough.  They begged him to stay another day and make his wonderful creation again.  He assented and the next day topped it with peppered salami, and some of the fresh vegetables Mrs. Bruss had gathered that morning.  Again his hosts and their neighbors were delighted and tried to cajole him to stay yet another day.  Alfonso said he missed his little hometown, and besides, he was nearly out of his secret spices.  The Brusses asked then if they might have his recipe and what remained of his spice packet, and he agreed.

     Many years later Dieter's son Alexander Bruss emigrated to America changing his last name to a more English sounding Bruce.  After settling in their new hometown of Frankfort, Michigan Todd and Kirk, great-grandsons of Dieter, decided it was time to share the magical recipe with their community.  They named their new restaurant for the original creator of the unique and delicious food.  Soon the magic had spread to Beulah with their friends Andy and Becky Miller, to Interlochen with Jeff Yacks, and back around to Thompsonville, where the Mountains of Crystal conjured up memories of those long-ago days in the Alps where Herr Bruss and Signore Papano first met.  Now with another restaurant in Kingsley and two back in the homeland of Germany, more and more are able to indulge in the unique and delicious recipes of A. Papano's Pizza.

     In the words of Alfonso, you can't make good wine from bad grapes.  And that is why A. Papano's Pizza selects on the best, freshest ingredients one can buy to prepare their delicious pizzas!