As you walk through the front door, your senses act like investigators. The aroma of garlic, marinara, dough, cheese, and basil—Pizza! Beneath your feet are black and white checkered flooring. Around you are tables and booths awaiting their next customer. The friendly staff awaits at the counter to take down your order. Pick wisely, as there are so many amazing choices to select from. 

Feeding the town of Lafayette, New Jersey Arturo’s serves up some of the best pizza and Italian dishes. The cozy, laid-back dining experience allows family and friends to have the best lunch and dinner meals together. Erika Medina and her boyfriend opened this restaurant in 2021, after successfully challenging the difficulties of inflation, finding employees, and the struggles with Covid procedures. They now find themselves operating a growing business and have many goals for the future. They look forward to potentially growing their menu beyond pizza and adding ice cream; they have plans to potentially open another business and remodel the current space that holds the restaurant, too. The future is looking bright for their small business. 

When asked about her inspiration to create such a wonderful restaurant, owner Erika Medina replied, “Ever since I was younger, I have always liked cooking and baking, and I always wanted to start a restaurant. Never would I have thought it would be a pizzeria, but I like pizza!” 

The management and staff have done a wonderful job maintaining a good status within the community with their spectacular food and fair prices. 

Some of their most popular dishes are their grandma pizza, Sicilian pizza, and other specialty pizzas. I know my favorite is definitely the grandma pizza; it’s delicious! For as long as I can remember, I have been eating at this restaurant weekly, and many friends and family do too. By word-of-mouth, I always try to positively promote this restaurant because others should be able to taste their amazing food. Their meals can be so refreshing on a hot summer day, and so comforting on a cold winter night. One of my favorite meals in the summer is their cold-cut subs—the meat and cheese are freshly sliced, and the toppings are so fresh.  In the winter I always look forward to their warm, fresh spaghetti. It’s the best! I’m so glad that the new owners have done such an amazing job transforming the old establishment into something of their own. Even with the changes, I find that Arturo’s remains true to all that I have come to love about the pizzeria and I know that I will be a loyal diner for years to come.