Main Street Pizza, crowned as the city’s best pizza at a Clarence-Rockland Festival competition, is all about one thing: family.
Manon Meloche took over the business five and a half years ago, and now her daughters and even her mom all play a role in keeping the pizza place successful.
“It’s nice, getting see my daughters and spend time with them,” said Meloche, who is originally from l’Orignal and moved to Rockland to be closer to the business she owns. “It’s the best of both worlds. You get to see your family, and for me, I am my own boss, and I wanted to work for myself. This was a great opportunity.”
Meloche’s daughter, Melissa Turcotte, was working for about a year for the previous owner before her mom took over business.
“The community support has been great,” said Turcotte, who makes the pizzas, all from scratch. “We really feel part of the community and having a chance working with my mom is great.”
People across the municipality showcased their support for Main Street Pizza in a big way, voting for the local business as the best pizza in the city.
In partnership with the City of Clarence-Rockland, TVC22, an independent not-for-profit organization founded in 1990 as a community TV station whose main mandate is to produce TV shows, launched a pizza competition, asking residents across the city to vote for their favourite, local pizza place.
On Friday, June 28, and Saturday, June 29, residents were asked to purchase a pizza from five participating pizza restaurants, between the hours and 12 p.m. and 8 p.m.
The winner, which ended up being Main Street Pizza, was revealed during the Clarence-Rockland Festival on June 30 at Parc Simon.
Participating restaurants sold a total of $677 pizzas over the course of the two-day voting period (394 on Friday, June 28 and 283 on Saturday, June 29).
In total, the event raised $777, which is equally shared between TVC22 and the Rockland Food Bank. The money raised also included a $100 donation from Rockland Pizza, who was selling food on site during the Clarence-Rockland Festival.
Meloche said Main Street Pizza sold 148 pizzas on Friday, June 28 and 92 pies on Saturday, June 29.
The certificate for the best pizza in town hangs proudly on the wall of Main Street Pizza.
“We saw a lot of new faces those few days, we were really busy,” said Meloche. “We were honoured to be named the best pizza, and we really want to thank for everyone who voted for us.”
Main Street Pizza, located at 1099 Laurier Street in Rockland, is open seven days a week. On Mondays, Tuesdays and Sundays, Main Street Pizza opens from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., Wednesdays and Saturdays from 3 p.m. until 9 p.m., 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. on Thursdays and from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. on Fridays.
