Iconic Stamford Pizzeria Keeps Things Fresh For Over 8 Decades

STAMFORD, CT — Amid the smell of hot, fresh pizzas whipping from table to table and the sound of customers clanking glasses of beer they just poured from a plastic pitcher, there are a few things you might notice if you find yourself sitting at the bar at Colony Grill in Stamford: two friends in the stools next to you watching a game, a family of five having dinner at a booth or even a young couple out on their first date.

Such a mixture is the norm for Colony, whose friendly and old school environment can be the ideal setting for really any occasion.

"This place is a really good atmosphere for all of those things, and that's pretty rare today," General Manager Chad Liggins said to Patch. "Here, you see all those dynamics happening at the same time and everyone seems to gel."

To many loyal customers, Colony is a Connecticut staple. Famous for it's paper-thin crust bar pies, often drizzled with a pepper-infused hot oil, the restaurant is consistently included in the conversation when the subject of Connecticut's best pizza comes up.

Liggins manages the Stamford restaurant, one of five Colony locations. Though the ones in Fairfield, Norwalk, Milford and Port Chester, N.Y., all bring something unique to the table while maintaining the same quality standards and food, the Stamford location has one very unique distinction: it's where it all began.

The History

The famous pizza joint's history actually dates back to 1935, when it first opened as a post prohibition era bar and grill in an Irish immigrant community affectionately known as "the Colony."

After returning home from World War II, two former employees, Eugene "Bo" Bohannon and Jimmy McLaughlin, purchased the business from its original owner and built it into the Connecticut pizza icon it is today.

The idea for expansion came about a decade ago when four friends from Trumbull, Paul Coniglio, Cody Lee, Ken Martin and former New York Rangers captain Chris Drury, wanted to open a location closer to them. They had played on a Little League World Series team together, winning the championship in 1989, and also shared many cherished memories of dining at Colony.

The four men now own the business, while Coniglio and Martin currently operate the company.

In 2009, they successfully expanded into Fairfield. The Milford location came a few years later, followed by Norwalk and finally their newest and first out-of-state location in Port Chester just last year.

There is a sense of history customers can feel just from looking around the restaurant. The tin ceilings date back to Colony's earliest days, while the original bar has been restored and is still being used today. You can even find history in the counter top, where dimes from the 1930's found in the walls of the restaurant are concealed into the bar's lacquer.

"I love all the locations, but I do have a special spot in my heart for this place," Liggins said. "You've got a little piece of history here; it's like a little museum."

The Pizza

Though the brand boasts a history that dates back over 80 years, it is still using essentially the same recipe for success (and pizza): quality food served in a friendly environment.

Colony's razor-thin crust pizza has always been a "bar-style" pie, intended to be able to fit on the bar with a customer's drink and also offer the ability to hold a slice while enjoying said beverage.

"We do provide a great product. Our pizza is excellent," Liggins said. "We put a lot of time and effort into keeping it original, keeping it fresh and the same. Everything is fresh here."

In fact, Colony is so confident in their pizza that it is essentially the only item on their menu. Customers can choose from 12 toppings for said pizza, including pepperoni, sausage and "stinger" peppers. The restaurant also offers a salad pizza and a breakfast pizza on the weekends, as well as gluten-free crust options.

Were you to walk into Colony for the first time having never tried their pizza, Liggins would recommend ordering his personal favorite: sausage and hot oil with light onion. Of course, their famed hot oil really adds to any pizza in his eyes.

"I think having the hot oil is such a unique thing," Liggins said. "The hot oil is a unique flavor profile for any kind of pizza. Whether it's pepperoni or sausage, it just gives it a little something different. There's also something special about that crispy, thin crust. It allows for a lot of the flavor to come through and it's not disguised by a lot of dough. It just brings out the flavor of all the other ingredients."

According to Liggins, the idea of bringing in other menu items, such as wings or grinders, has never been considered.

"In order to keep what we do so fresh and good and popular, we just felt like doing one thing as good as we possibly could was the way to go. That's a good model for us," Liggins said. "We're kind of our own thing and we like to do it the best we can, and we try to be the best at it."

If there is one menu item that has grown over the years at Colony, it is their beer list. Once a place that exclusively sold Schaefer from one tap in the middle of the bar, Liggins said Colony has made a point to bring in more variety of beers, both of the craft variety and old standards. Oh, and you can still get a can of Schaefer there if you desire.

The Service

According to Liggins, the success of Colony is really dependent on two things: the food and the experience. A big part of that experience is the people serving the product, which is why the restaurant has all new employees undergo a full orientation, where they are taught both its history and the values its brand adheres by.

"We invest a lot in our training programs to get these [employees] to where we need them to be to give the best service and separate ourselves in this business," Liggins said. "You can make 999 guests happy, but if that thousandth one doesn't have a good experience then we don't feel like we've done our job. It's really about our connection to [customers], making them feel like family."

As such, employees share Liggins' enthusiasm about the history and experience that comes with dining at Colony. For server Maggy Madsen, getting a job at the Stamford location was "mind-blowing," as she had been coming to Colony all her life while growing up in Stamford.

"We all work as a team together," Madsen said. "We're all really good friends, we all get along and it creates such a good environment for all of us working together, and for all of our customers to come in and just feel like they're at home, hanging out with their friends."

Madsen, who has worked at the restaurant for five years, said her employers emphasize being friendly, acting as a team and making sure every customer leaves wanting to come back as many times as possible.

"We all get along and we all get along with our customers, so it's a very friendly and welcoming environment," Madsen said. "It's been a really cool experience to work at a place that really means a lot to people."

The Experience

Many customers who find their way into Colony are regulars, a number of which have been dining there for over 50 years.

"We have people here sometimes four or five times a week, and that's a testament to the kind of connection this restaurant has with people," Liggins said. "You can only eat pizza so many days a week...people really just a have a connection to this place and to the staff members. Anybody who walks in this door, we make them feel at home."

It's an appeal that spans not only cities, but generations. In fact, Liggins said just last week he had four generations of a family eating together at the same table: a great-grandfather, grandfather, father and son. He also served pizza to a family from China who made Colony the first stop on their trip and ended up staying for over four hours.

"This location is doing what it's supposed to do," Liggins said. "It's like a home base for seeing where something developed. It's the birthplace of something very special. I think the bigger we get, the more people are going to want to come see that one little place on Myrtle Avenue where it all spawned from, and that's super important to have."

It's that consistency that keeps people coming back for something they can't find everyday in the ever-changing restaurant industry: a place they can always count on.

"I think this place says a lot about what people in Stamford value," Liggins said. "They value something that has been consistent and a part of their life. Somewhere where they can go and feel like we're their community restaurant and we're running it for them. This is their home. They come here and they know they're going to get the same great product, the same great service, the same good feeling and the same connection to the people working here. I think the people of Stamford really embrace it for that reason."