Boardwalk Pizza Cravings? Sam’s Is the Answer in Wildwood

Good News! One of the sure signs that warmer weather is on the way in South Jersey is the reopening of Sam's Pizza Palace on the Wildwood Boardwalk, which opens today for its 68th season.

Sam's Pizza, at 26th & the Boardwalk, opened in 1957, after founder Sam Spera came to town for a visit and decided it would be a good place to establish roots.

He had moved to Jersey after arriving in the United States from Villalba, Sicily, in 1951 with his wife. Sam worked two jobs to support their three children.

He first entered a partnership on a restaurant called Marconi's and later opened Sam's Steaks on his own on the north side of 26th Street.

The boardwalk business would grow and thrive in that storefront before moving over to the southside of 26th Street in 1988.

Sam Spear died in 2021.

Five Things To Know About Sam's Pizza Palace

1- Spera told NJ.com he came to the U.S. with $50 and couldn't speak any English. His given name is Salvatore, but he decided to go with Sam because it was easier.

2- The early days of the business were a struggle, so much so that Sam spent some time sleeping under the pizza oven when he couldn't afford a room.

3- One of Sam's Pizza Palace's old-fashioned features is a manual cash register from a New York department store, dating back to the 1940s.

4- When Sam's Pizza opened in 1957, Sam sold slices for 15 cents.

5- When Sam Spera died at 92, Sam's Pizza Palace did not close in his honor. As the family noted in their Facebook tribute to him, "Sam wouldn’t have wanted it any other way."