Yala's Pizza Grand Opening – Jan. 1957

Whenever one of my out-of-state siblings visits me here in Vermilion, there's always one thing they'd like to experience during their visit: a Yala's Pizza.

Yeah, I know. It's now called Fran's Pizza. But despite the name change, it pretty much tastes the same as it always did to my siblings and me. We should know – we had it every Friday for years during the 1970s.

Anyway, it's fun to look back at the early days of the pizzaria and how it was advertised.

Above you see what is probably one of the very first ads for Yala's that ran in the Lorain Journal. It appeared on December 29, 1956. Note that it mentions, "Watch for Our Grand Opening."

Then, in January this tiny teaser ad (about an inch or two wide) ran several times.

Finally, the 'Grand Opening' ad ran on January 23, 1957.

A week later, this ad ran on January 30, 1957. It's interesting because it lists the names of the people behind the pizza: Mrs. Yala Armelie and Marian Fuervando.

Then about a week later on Feb. 6, 1957, this ad ran – adding the name of Jay Telloni to the list of 'food experts.'

And as a reminder that Yala's served more than just pizza, this ad ran on Feb. 22, 1957.

One aspect of early Yala's advertising that has always interested me is the mention in its ads of "wonder dough." It's front and center in this ad from March 28, 1957.

Promoting 'Wonder Dough" must have worked, as it was still being mentioned in ads two years later. Here's an ad that ran in the Journal on July 18, 1959.

It's interesting that the ad boasts "Lorain's Most Popular Pizza – 1954-1959." There really weren't too many pizza places in Lorain in 1954. A look at online Journals from that year reveals that with the exception of Lusca's and Capy's, pizza was mainly a novelty item offered at established restaurants like Vian's Barbecue and the Showboat.

Anyway, one factor that contributed to Yala's early success was its regular ads in the Journal. They were often very small, like the trio of ads below that ran in the fall of 1960, but they seemed to run almost every day.

Sept. 27, 1960

Nov. 1, 1960

Nov. 24, 1960

At some point around early 1961, however, Yala's must have determined that it was popular enough that it didn't need to run so many ads. Its sponsorship of various sports teams kept its name in the paper regularly. Here's one of the last ads for the pizzeria that I could find from the 1960s.

Yala’s Pizza: A Pizza By Any Other Name...

Did you know Yala’s Pizza has changed its name, as well as its longtime phone number?

Last week, an alert reader emailed me to let me know. At first, I thought it was an April Fool’s Day prank. But it’s no joke. 

The explanation was on the restaurant’s Facebook page. It notes, "On July 10th, 2021, Eliseo DeSantis passed away. It has been a troubling time having to continue forward without him, but I feel that he would be proud of the path we are taking. 

"March was a memorable month for our family. His birthday on the 16th and the anniversary of my family taking over the pizza shop, the 5th. 

"In honor of my parents, Eliseo and Francesca, who have put their blood, sweat, and tears into make the business what it is today I am happy to announce that we are rebranding Yala's Pizza to Fran's Pizza. Same recipe, same ingredients, same taste. Just a new name and a new number to go along with it (4402827544).

"Thank you all for your support this last year without my father and your continued support moving forward.”

As expected, the name change has resulted in a variety of responses, from approval and support (from friends of the DeSantis family) and disappointment and outrage (from everyone else).

What do I think? Well, I think it’s a mistake. 

Yala’s Pizza is a symbol of Lorain. It was the first real pizza parlor on the West side of Lorain during its growth spurt in the 1950s, and consequently Yala’s was the first pizza many of us ever had. Some of us even remember being able to sit down and eat there.

The Brady’s ordered three small pizzas every Friday for years – and ate the leftovers for lunch on Saturday. It was our ritual.

As the decades passed, Yala’s taste and quality never changed, and the pizza attracted national attention as being authentic and great. I know people who have been to Italy and confirmed that Yala’s is the real thing.

Thank goodness the DeSantis family kept the iconic restaurant going, and creatively partnered it with Eliseo’s Pizza under the same roof.

But if the only change is the name and phone number, then why is it a big deal?

Well, people are funny. They don’t like change, and they don’t want something they love to be tampered with. (Remember New Coke?)

The name 'Yala’s Pizza' honors the recipe and taste that was created by the original people behind it: Louis Fuervando, Jay Telloni and Yala Armelie. To change the name to Fran’s Pizza obscures the company’s heritage, not to mention creating the impression that something dear to many Lorainite’s hearts (and stomachs) is going to change. And some people will stay away, judging by the Facebook reaction.

In the end, if someone loves the taste of the pizza enough, they won’t care what the name is. Just like the old saying, “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

It’s just that we lose a little bit of Old Lorain in the process. And in this day and age, there’s not a lot of it left.

Yala's Pizza Ad – February 2, 1957

Pizza was one of my favorite topics on this blog when I started it back in 2009.

That first year, I wrote about Yala's Pizza, the Pizza House, Pizza Hut, Rosie's Pizza and even held an online Favorite Pizza Poll that I intended to be an annual thing (but somehow forgot to ever do again).

So what pizza am I ordering these days?

If it's just me – batchin' it all by myself – it's got to be Rosie's. But if it's the spouse and me, the pizza of choice is Selenti's. We both like their nice, thick golden-brown pizza with that pleasant, slightly spicy sauce.

Another reason we like is Selenti's is their location near the northern end of Oberlin Avenue (which is convenient for a Sheffield Laker like me). Plus, I like chit-chatting with their friendly counter help and the owners (fellow Admiral King alumni) as well.

That's not to say we don't like Yala's anymore. In fact, we ordered a Yala's pizza a month ago and it was great as ever, tasting exactly as it always has. I've even gotten used to their drive-thru (although I still don't like being trapped behind someone picking up their pizza early).

And Yala's is still the pizza that transplanted Lorainites want when they come home to visit.

Which brings me to today's post – a simple Yala's ad from the pages of the Feb. 2, 1957 Lorain Journal – 57 years ago this month. Note the ad touts that "Wonder-Dough" mentioned back in this ad.

Do they still use "Wonder-Dough" at Yala's?

I'm still wondering. Does anybody know?

Yala's Pizza Moving?

Several weeks ago, I noticed a sign in front of a building near the southern end of Oberlin Avenue promoting something like "Coming soon... Yala's Pizza Drive Thru." When I went to pick up my weekly Friday night Yala's pizza, I asked the young woman at the counter about it. She told me that the owners were seriously considering closing the current location next to Dom & Luigi's Barber Shop and moving down to the other end of Oberlin Avenue. She told me that they were doing an informal poll of their customers about the move.
I told her that I thought it was a terrible idea. Yala's is a Lorain landmark at that location, and that it would be a big blow to that neighborhood, which is already losing its identity with the closing of Willow Hardware. Plus, the pizza probably wouldn't taste the same.
It's been a few weeks since we talked and I don't know what the current status of the move. But it's definitely a half-baked idea!

Yala's Pizza: I wonder if they still use Wonder-Dough?

Here's something you don't see every day. It's an ad for Yala's Pizza that ran in the Journal back in 1959 in one of those big Lorain anniversary editions.

   It's interesting (to me at least) because you actually get to see the names of the people behind the operation: Louis Fuervando, Jay Telloni and Yala Armelie. (I always thought that 'Yala' was a last name!) The ad is also great because of the chef mascot.

   It sure is great pizza – no doubt Lorain's favorite now and forever. To my taste buds, it tastes the same now as it did when I first tasted it back in the 1960s. 

   My family always had Yala's Pizza every Friday night when I was a kid, along with Pepsi (never Coke). Once in a while, we would have Selenti's for something different, but we always came back to Yala's.

   I remember when you could sit down in Yala's and eat your pizza there. 

   Once back in high school days, a couple of pals and I ordered a Yala's pizza during Christmas break and walked there with the intention of eating in. To our dismay, Yala's had gotten recently gotten rid of the booths, so we had to take it with us. After walking around in the snow with it for a while, we decided that we didn't want to walk all the way home with it – so we took it over to Hardees, sat down and started eating it there.

   The Hardees manager came out and asked us, "Is that a Hardees Pizza?" He must have had a sense of humor, because I don't remember being thrown out.