Eliyahu's Yardley Pizza To Open May 22

YARDLEY, PA — Pizza lovers in Yardley won't have to wait long to taste the borough's newest offering.

Eliyahu's Yardley Pizza, which is taking over the longtime location of Verrelli's Yardley Pizza on Main Street, has scheduled a grand opening and ribbon-cutting on Saturday, May 22.

Jim Verrelli announced earlier this month that he had sold the location to Eliyahu and Keira Kheel. The husband-and-wife team got to know Verrelli through a pizza-lovers group on Facebook and jumped at the chance when the location became available.

Eliyahu Kheel says he started making pizza as a hobby before taking a four-hour class in New York City.

"That was the day I decided I wanted to do this for the rest of my life," he told Patch.

From there, he attended Accademia Pizzaioli in New York, where he graduated with an internationally recognized certificate, and, after working at several pizza restaurants there, earned a "master of pizza" certificate from Goodfellas Pizza School of New York.

The restaurant is expected to serve several styles of pizza, including Neopolitan and New York style, along with specials like Detroit style, tavern style, New Haven style or Chicago deep dish.

"All in all, prepare for Eliyahu’s Yardley Pizza to be a pizzeria truly dedicated to the science, art, and heart of pizza," Kheel said.

A lifelong vegetarian, Kheel said the shop is planned to be "an all-vegetarian pizzeria that you won't miss the meat at."

"When people think vegetarian, they think bland and boring," he said. "But there are so many incredible ingredients out there without meat. It’s not just tofu and Brussel sprouts. If you use great ingredients and make it with love and care, there’s absolutely no need for meat. The food will taste unbelievable without it."

The ribbon-cutting on May 22 is scheduled for 2 p.m. Eliyahu's Yardley Pizza is located at 20 S. Main St. in Yardley.