From pro soccer to NJ pizza dynasty, Father's Day means family for new dad R.J. Allen

All R.J. Allen wanted was a slice of pizza.

He wound up getting so much more.

“I was 17 years old, I walked into pizza shop, saw this beautiful Italian girl behind the counter and instantly fell in love,” Allen said. “She made my slice of pizza and I walked out with her phone number.”

After a few twists and turns — Allen went on to become an All-America soccer player at Monmouth University and then played professionally in Major League Soccer — he married that Italian girl, Valentina Viterbo. He also married into her father’s pizza-dynasty family, and now he moonlights behind the counter at Mangia Brick Oven Pizza in Toms River. Valentina runs the business end, and their one-year-old twin girls, Alessia and Gemma, make frequent appearances.

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“It’s great,” Allen said. “Obviously it’s a lot of hard work, but I love being around family. Family is the most important thing, and this is a family-oriented place. When people come in with their children, it means a lot.”

This Father’s Day, as Mangia prepares to celebrate a decade in business, this 33-year-old former soccer star is doling out a different kind of assist.

“R.J. is very personable behind the counter. He relates to everyone, makes everyone feel like family,” Valentina said.

How often does soccer come up with customers? After all, it’s not every day the guy serving you a slice played the beautiful game alongside Andrea Pirlo — one of the greatest playmakers ever.

“Pretty often,” Valentina said.

'Everybody pitches in'

Valentina was born into pizzeria life. Her father Luigi brought his recipes from his hometown of Palermo, Sicily, to New Jersey (“The Palermo,” an upside-down pizza, is Mangia’s house special).

“Luigi is the king of pizza,” Allen said.

In order to be around him, Valentina became adept with a pizza cutter.

“I started working real young, probably 12 or 13 years old,” Valentina said. “It’s in my blood now.”

She was at one of her father’s shops, in Monroe, when she met Allen — who grew up in Old Bridge and attended St. Joseph High School in Metuchen.

“I thought he was a really nice guy and cute and absolutely, my dad was very happy about the soccer,” she said.

Allen’s day job is as director of training at Advanced Physical and Technical Training, a soccer-oriented training facility in Metuchen. There, he draws on his four years of Major League Soccer and a lifetime of experience on the pitch; he’s one of just two Monmouth men’s soccer players ever to earn two All-America citations.

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Most weekends he’s at Mangia, his kids often in tow. For the Allens, who live in Ocean Township, juggling parenthood and a pizza place requires an all-hands-on-deck approach.

“It takes not just the two of us, but a team of people,” Allen said. “Valentina’s sisters (Fabiana and Elisa) help out — everybody pitches in.”

Fabiana and her husband Sean run a Mangia’s branch in Jackson (there’s a Mangia’s shop in Shrewsbury, too, run by Ryan and Emmy Lilore). In Toms River, the Allens team up with business partner Massimo Giorgio at the oldest of the three. On June 24 they are celebrating 10 years in Toms River by offering free slices to kids and face-painting.

Before that, on Father’s Day, the Allens will have a family dinner at Mangia. Have to be there for the dinner rush, of course. Because you never know who’s going to walk in for a slice — and where that might lead.

Jerry Carino is community columnist for the Asbury Park Press, focusing on the Jersey Shore’s interesting people, inspiring stories and pressing issues. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Father's Day means family for pro athlete turned Toms River pizza pro