'It's in the dough, it's love:' Stan's Chitch's Café to serve last pizza after 86 years

Half a century ago, Polish immigrants Myra and Stanley Kurkowski bought Chitch’s Café in Bound Brook and added “Stan’s” to the name.

Bound Brook was doubtful. After all, Chitch's Cafe was the landmark hangout in Bound Brook's West End, the heart and soul of the working-class town's Italian neighborhood.

“Everyone would say, ‘They’ll never make it. How can Polish people run an Italian restaurant that’s been established for 36 years?’” recalled Renee Cote, daughter of Myra and Stan and now owner of Stan’s Chitch’s Café. “But 50 years later we’re still here, stronger than ever, thanks to the hard work of my parents and what they started.”

That will end on Saturday when the cozy, family-run pizzeria and bar serves its last thin-crust pie. Renee announced the closure last week on Facebook, which was followed by a barrage of posts, comments and photos from fans sharing their sadness and memories.

The Columbus Place property, but not the business, is in the process of being purchased by a restaurant owner, said Renee. The building will not be knocked down.

“I can’t believe the outpouring – everyone is devastated,” said Renee. “They’re saying, ‘We thought you would be here forever.’ But nothing lasts forever. When you have a good run, it’s time. When you know it’s right, it’s right.”

That doesn’t mean it was an easy decision. In Renee’s Facebook post, she wrote that closing Stan’s Chitch’s Café was "one of the hardest decisions her family has ever had to make."

Myra, who can be found every day in the Stan’s Chitch’s Café kitchen, is going to retire after 50 years of making pizza sauce, meatballs that “are to die for” and dough that’s made fresh, even if that means making it 10 times a night.

“It’s in the dough, it’s love,” said Renee.

Renee isn’t sure what’s next for her yet.

“The emotions are insane. It’s bittersweet,” said Renee. “We are moving onto the next chapter of our lives but still, it’s hard to let go of something that you’ve had in your life for 50 years.”

Renee’s parents bought Chitch’s Café when she was just 3 years old after her father’s factory job was moved to another state, so he and Myra decided to buy a business.

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They came across an ad for Chitch’s Café which was up for sale by Francesco "Chitch" D'Ambroisio's wife, Jennie, after D'Ambroisio had died two years earlier. According to the ad in the Courier News, the asking price was "only" $139,000 for a "fabulous income producer" that sold 1,500 pies a week.

Myra and Stan met with Jennie, and they immediately hit it off. An afternoon and a handshake later, the business was theirs - with one request.

Jennie asked Stan and Myra if they could keep “Chitch” in the name. Chitch's Cafe, at one time, was the one of the few places, along with DeLucia’s Brick Oven Pizza in Raritan, where you could get a pizza in Somerset County.

During Stan and Myra’s first year as the owners of Stan’s Chitch’s Café, they were open seven days a week. Then, they closed on Sundays so they could spend time with their family.

Those family members became friendly faces at Stan’s Chitch’s Café. Four generations have worked there, including Renee's grandmother Ida Kurkowski;Myra and Stan;Renee and her sister Basia Kurkowski; Renee's cousins; and Renee’s three sons, Dylan, Tyler and J.J. When Stan passed away in 2015 and Basia passed away in 2021, the family legacy continued.

“You would never walk in and not see a family face for 50 years,” Renee said. “My parents are the most hardworking people. They were there everyday day and night for all these years. I attribute all of this to their hard work and what they started. When my dad passed away, we just said, ‘It’s just us now, let’s get to work.’”

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Those family values extended to customers and even other staff members. Many babies that Renee held 30 years ago so their mothers could eat their pizza are now married and bringing their own babies to Stan’s Chitch’s.

“Every baby that came in here, my mother and I would bring them into the kitchen,” said Renee. “We were like, ‘C’mon have your dinner, give me the baby, we’ll help you guys.’ You walk through the doors and you’re family.”

To Renee, not seeing those customers – many whom she sees more than she sees her own family – is the hardest part of closing Stan’s Chitch’s Café, which has hosted countless engagements, graduation parties, birthdays, anniversaries, awkward first dates and even a wedding over the years. Renee met her own husband, J., at Stan's Chitch's Cafe 35 years ago when he was a regular customer. She said he's been the "rock" of the Chitch's family ever since.

Many other regulars have been visiting the restaurant for 60 years, and their own milestones and memories can be found within the green booths.

But it wasn’t always easy. Stan’s Chitch’s Café rebuilt after seven floods, including Hurricane Floyd in 1999, when they lost everything, Renee said, and the water reached 2 inches from the ceiling.

“It was heartbreaking, all of your hard work for all of those years just sitting on a curb,” Renee said. “But we knew we had to rebuild for everybody. And we did – we rebuilt every time, and every time we came back stronger.”

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Now, that community all-hands-on-deck spirit has returned as Stan’s Chitch’s Café readies to serve its last pie, still made from the same 86-year-old recipe, that Renee admits she’s going to miss. A line of customers has been winding down the block and the tables have been full.

“We have former staff walking in the door and saying, ‘Renee, what can I do?’ and getting to work washing dishes,” Renee said. “It makes you cry. It’s just overwhelming. But that’s how we got to this point – my parents’ hard work and dedication for 50 years.”

Go: 14 Columbus Place, Bound Brook; 732-356-0899; last call is Saturday, April 29.

Contact: JIntersimone@MyCentralJersey.com

Jenna Intersimone has been a staff member at the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey since 2014, after becoming a blogger-turned-reporter following the creation of her award-winning travel blog. To get unlimited access to her stories about food, drink and fun, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Stan's Chitch's Café pizzeria in Bound Brook NJ closing Saturday