After a rental debacle with former tenants who left outstanding bills and caused a mechanics lien costing more that $104,000, landlords Janet and Antonio Calivi of Ballston Spa decided to bite the bullet and open a pizzeria themselves.

"We were left with these huge bills from the tenants, and we had to find some way to pay them, so we thought 'why not open a business?'" Janet Calvi said. "We looked for other tenants but nothing seemed to fit right."

Opening on Monday, July 7, business has been running smoothly with a lot of positive energy, Calvi said.

"Everyone has been so supportive, and we are so grateful for our neighbors here on Broadway. We've been greeted with great warmth and there are just good vibrations within the restaurant," she added.

Business was steady mid-afternoon Monday, opening day. Lines formed and were quickly dispersed as Chefs Maddalana Alvarez and Gabriel Farias pumped out pizzas, calzones, Panini's and desserts-all named after Broadway shows. Sarias is a native of New York City and brings his expertise in NYC-style this crust pizza to the Saratoga Springs shop, Calvi said.

The shop has a Broadway theater theme and a metro feel.

"We wanted to bring the energy of the city into our shop. It's a unique twist, and no one around here has the same feeling we do," Calvi said. 

The energy of the store brought people through the door opening day to check out the scene.

"We are having lots of walk-ins as well as friends and family stopping in to see how things are going," Calvi said.

She added that there are still a few loose ends to tie up, but things have really come along over the six to seven weeks of renovations. The building was left in disrepair and the entire storefront had to be rebuilt, she said.

"This place was not tenantable in any way. We had to rebuild from the ground up," Calvi said. "We are so proud to have come this far - to go from a defunct building and bring it back to life."

The pizzeria has seating for eat-in, and the Calvi’s have submitted a request for an outdoor seating area as well. Depending on demand, Calvi said they may open for the late-night Caroline Street scene.

The saga of the Pizzeria on Broadway began in 2006 when Peter Alamia, Arthur Alvarado and Clifford Gonzalez signed a five-year lease to rent the space from the Calvi's. Work had been done to the property in 2007, with bills going unpaid, causing the mechanic's lien. When rent payments stopped coming, the Calvis took legal action to regain their property.

"Since we started this project, everything has been fantastic. We are so grateful for our neighbor's and the public's patients and I have all positive things to say for the government agencies. This has been no easy feat," Calvi said.