V Pizza Owner Anthony Rapillo Rallies Community Support for Local Restaurants
V Pizza is located near the corner of Kildaire Farm Road and Cary Parkway, in front of Trader Joe’s
Anthony Rapillo, owner of V Pizza on Kildaire Farm Road in Cary, is rallying support for all local restaurants, not just his own.
If you’ve been out to eat recently, you’ve probably had a different experience than what you remember prior to the pandemic. While the last two years have been tough all around, brick and mortar restaurants especially, have been out there taking it on the chin. Whether its been government mandated shutdowns, pivoting of business models, labor shortages or increased food and material costs, survival has been a tremendous challenge.
“Positive reviews and word of mouth is a 100% free currency that can tip the scales…”
-Anthony Rapillo, V Pizza
Anthony Rapillo moved to the area and opened V Pizza at the most inopportune time, just as the pandemic was closing everything down. While some element of V’s survival can be attributed to America’s unflagging appetite for good pizza, Rapillo said recently:
“We’ve somehow kept our doors open. We’ve somehow been able to grow. Unfortunately — we’re in the minority. I know way more businesses than I care to admit, have had to close their doors, some for good. And look, its not like we’re thriving. “Keeping our doors open” is a promise I made to my managers and staff, but a big reason that was possible for us, is that I can genuinely live at the pizza shop. I’m not married. I don’t have any children, so I can be here from open until close, 7 days a week to keep the lights on. Luckily we offer an option that lends itself well to takeout, and I believe we have a good product — but, even with that, I made more money in my teens than I made in 2021…and again, I’m one of the LUCKY ones.”
Whether a diner, a dishwasher, delivery driver, or determined to survive restauranteur, we’re all dealing with a new normal. How long this new normal will last, is anyone’s guess.
Rapillo says, now more than ever, every establishment could benefit from the extra support.
Does that mean going out to eat more often? “If that’s in your budget, yes, absolutely.”
Equally important though, Rapillo believes social media’s an immensely powerful tool, providing people an opportunity to go the extra mile no matter how often they go out, or how much they’re able to spend.
He makes this promise:
“Whenever you go out to ANY restaurant or bar, if you leave a review on Yelp or Google, screenshot it and send it to me (leaving on both counts as a double entry). Once a week, I’ll pick a random winner and reward them with a $25 gift card to V.”
For a detailed look at Anthony Rapillo’s story, and to learn more about V Pizza, we encourage you to check out NC Eat & Play’s feature story.
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One piece of the story has fallen in to place, as we asked police whether Ian Delauder had interaction with the Cary Fire Department (first to arrive on the scene) or the Cary Police Department prior to the self-inflicted gunshot wound. Sergeant Alexander told us, “In listening to radio traffic, it is believed that Mr. Delauder suffered his gunshot wound after the arrival of the fire department. We do not know the timing of his wound in relation to the arrival of police officers. He did not have an interaction with the police.”