By Sandra Farmer
The three stars decorating the floor of Red Star Pizza mark the fact that it is the third restaurant with that name opened by the Bua family. But it could also represent the three decades they have spent in the business, or their three children, who grew up as a part of it.
Sal Bua, 28, is the middle child of the family and the general manager of the Bear Tavern Road establishment, which is the only location still operated by the family. It opened in 1996, less than two miles from the family home in Ewing.
“I was born into the business,” Bua said. “I’ve been making pizzas since I was 12.”
His father, Anthony Bua, opened the first Red Star near the Red Lion Circle in Vincentown, Burlington County in 1987 — a date his wife, Maria, remembers because their youngest son, Patrick, was an infant. A second location later opened in Cream Ridge (Upper Freehold, Monmouth County). Those locations were sold to cousins after the third restaurant opened, as the Bua family wanted to have their business close to home.
The sense of family is evident in the menus, where each member has a dish bearing his or her name, inspired by their own tastes and experimentation in the kitchen.
For instance, Maria Bua’s special is Penne a la Maria, made with garlic, onion, mushroom and fresh tomato.
“You add this, you add that,” she said. When the trial and error process produces a “wow!” then they know they’ve created a new classic, she said.
Rigatoni a la Salvatore includes a cream sauce, broccoli, mushrooms, onions and stuffed rigatoni. His siblings also have dishes, Penna a la Patrizio (with garlic, hot pepper and basil in a plum tomato sauce) for his younger brother Patrick; and Cappellini a la Rosanna for his older sister, a dish with angel hair pasta, fresh tomato, garlic and basil.
Sal Bua said the chicken alfredo pizza is a favorite, both for himself and for customers; and the homemade focaccia sandwiches also are very popular. The menu includes a variety of traditional Italian favorites from family recipes, but they will make any pizza to order, he said. There also are a number of vegetarian options in pizzas, pasta and sandwiches.
Maria Bua said she had not expected her life to follow this path, as she has a degree in communications, but she met Anthony Bua in the early 1970s and that changed everything.
“Tony was in the restaurant business when I met him,” she said. He had come to the U.S. with his family from Palermo, Italy at the age of 18, shortly before they met. Although the rest of the family settled in areas including New York and St. Louis, he remained in New Jersey to start a life with Maria.
“I met him, and he stayed,” she said.
Traditional family recipes are a large part of the appeal of the restaurant, said Sal Bua. They’ve used the same ones for 30 years.
All of the items are made fresh on site every day, from dough to sauce, Maria said, and they are also branching out into catering.
Most of the dozen or so employees have been with the restaurant for at least a few years, and there is a strong sense of family even among the staff, Sal said. The restaurant also participates in the township’s annual Fourth of July parade with an annual float.
Maria Bua said they may expand this location, but the focus has always been on the quality of the food.
“It’s a love of food,” she said of their life in the restaurant business. “We know what we like and we bring that to our menu. The kitchen is the heart of the home.”
Red Star Pizza can be found at 608 Bear Tavern Road and reached at (609) 406-1600.
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