Kyle Fialho is following int he footsteps of his father and grandfather with Fresno's Boston House of Pizza location. Photo by Ben Hensley

In 1982, Manuel and Roy Fialho opened Hanford’s first Boston House of Pizza, introducing an East Coast-style pizza house to the Central Valley.

Fast forward 30 years, and now Roy’s son Kyle is following in the footsteps of both his father and grandfather.

Opened in 2020, Boston House of Pizza near Herndon and Cedar avenues aims to offer something unique compared to other pizza joints, featuring fresh ingredients and Mediterranean flair.

“Our style of pizza is more of a traditional Greek style,” Fialho said, adding that the business was influenced by his father’s experience growing up working at a local pizza place in Massachusetts.

Items like the Greek salad and pita pizzas drive that influence home, Fialho said.

Despite the name, Boston House of Pizza offers more than just pizza, and Fialho’s store, which features a large kitchen, presents an opportunity to try new recipes and selections that the other, busier Hanford and Lemoore locations can’t due to customer volume. 

One of the most popular selections is the Philly cheesesteak sub — one of the chain’s biggest sellers.

“Our Hanford and Lemoore stores sometimes sell 60 to 100 of them a day,” Fialho said.

With added kitchen space to try new recipes, Fialho said the Fresno location also acts as a “tester” site for new selections.

“Right when we opened up the store, I started a Boston chicken special pizza, just to show that we can do barbecue, buffalo-style chicken,” he said. “I was trying to add something new and it’s been one of our biggest sellers here.”

The menu at the Fresno store is larger than the Hanford or Lemoore restaurants, with Fialho adding new selections more frequently.

After celebrating its opening during the pandemic, Boston House of Pizza initially struggled to catch the eye of the Fresno Community. While the chain’s Hanford and Lemoore locations grew with the community in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Fresno’s location not only opened in an area with plenty of competition, but did so in the strictly carry-out era of the pandemic.

Fialho said business was difficult in the beginning.

“Imagine going to try a new restaurant for the first time and by the time you get your food home and are eating it, it’s not right out of the oven,” he said. “They were trying our food but they weren’t trying it at its peak.”

Fialsho said that since 2020, the business has seen its ups and downs, but recently has seen much more foot traffic inside the store, offering space for parties, events and other celebrations.

Boston House of Pizza, located at 6761 N. Cedar Ave. in Fresno, is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday through Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.