Q&A With Ray’s New Haven Style Pizza

Ray’s New Haven Style Pizza is . Doors opened to customers on Sunday, Feb. 10 and owner Ray Raney was heading out the door on his first delivery when Patch stopped in Monday afternoon.  Raney said the restaurant is ready to take orders and will host a grand opening at the end of the month.

“We’re trying to get things right,” Raney said about the next couple of weeks in the new location and new staff. “First impression means everything.”

Q: What is “New Haven-style pizza” and what’s so great about it?

A: “It’s the thin crust cooked right on the bricks, and more toward well-done and crispy," said Raney. “People know if they come here, they’ll get the thinner crust.”

Raney’s business partner, Stephen Stefano, said that he likes New Haven-style pizza because the ingredients are really fresh. At Ray’s, the pizza dough and sauce are made there from scratch, daily.

Q: Do you have any experience making New Haven-style pies?

A: Raney said he cut his teeth working on Wooster Street in New Haven for 19 years before he opened his own restaurant. He was a delivery guy for about four years before he was able to try his hand in the kitchen. 

Then, he said, it took him another four years to learn how to spin, throw and catch the dough to the right size without ripping or punching a hole through it.

Q: People have a lot of choices when it comes to pizza, why should they come here?

A: “People can expect good pizza and they’re going to get the best service,” Raney said. “They’ll find a clean environment and a friendly atmosphere.”

Raney said he thrives in a busy kitchen and that one of the things he loves about owning a restaurant is the challenge of making different pies, taking lots of orders and delivering the food on time.

“It has to be there when I say it’s going to be there and it has to be right,” he said.

Q: What’s your favorite pie?

A: Ray’s Choice, which has marinated and grilled chicken cutlets served with hot sauce and blue cheese.

“I eat it almost every day,” he said. “It’s a little tricky but it’s a good one.”

The restaurant is located at 126 Gallup Hill Road, which was previously occupied by .

Raney said it took his crew a little more than five weeks to completely renovate the site. He said everything has been replaced including the plumbing, electrical ceiling, walls, windows, and equipment.

Stefano said it was a lot of work and “the town was very, very good, in fact, I’d give them a hand.”

Raney said they hope to serve beer and wine in the near future but for now, Pepsi and Foxon brand soft drinks are available.

The restaurant seats 34 and is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. They offer free delivery beginning at 4 p.m. and their number is 860-245-5711.