Open @ 4:00 p.m.
Thursday-Sunday
Lenny Capozio (1930-1991) first moved to Stevensville, Michigan from Chicago, Illinois in
1945 to help run a new family resort called La Conca D’ Oro, meaning "Pot of Gold." This was the start of his 46 years of food service to Berrien County. Upon opening the resort, his
parents hired a baker that prepared bread daily and helped feed the vacationers staying at the resort. The baker being homesick for Chicago packed up one day and left. That’s where
Lenny stepped in. He had been working daily with the baker and knew enough to make the bread. This is when he first started experimenting with pizza.
Liking what he made, he started packaging frozen pizzas and selling them to area grocery stores. After doing that for a few years, in July of 1957 he opened a stand on Glenlord Beach called "Lenny’s". He served pizzas, Italian sandwiches, hamburgers and hot dogs. While selling his frozen pizzas and opening his stand at Glenlord Beach, Lenny had also held a full-time job at Whirlpool for 9 years.
As fate would have it, in 1958, Lenny was laid off for not having 10 years seniority. That is what inspired him to take over the Patio in downtown St. Joseph in January of 1959. After having the patio for five years, his family formed Capozio’s Inc. and decided to open up the area’s first "Take’em Out" pizza stores. Three locations were opened starting in 1963, the first one on Niles Road in St. Joseph, then the Fairplain Plaza in Benton Harbor and lastly, on John Beers Road in Stevensville. Running the take-outs were a great business for Lenny but his dream was to own a full service restaurant. He wanted to have a full menu of homemade Italian specialties.
Splitting from his family in 1978 to fulfill that dream, Lenny kept the Benton Harbor and Stevensville stores. On March 17, 1980 he opened his first restaurant. As Lenny’s children grew older he knew he needed to expand. That’s when he opened a restaurant in Harbert on March 15, 1989 and his second dream was accomplished.
Lenny’s Legacy was filled with hard work, a love of people and skill for making homemade food. His philosophy to run a good business was to have the right price, good service and great food. This is why he prepared homemade bread, dough, sauces, ravioli and other items starting at 7:30 am daily. He only used choice ingredients and products. No preservatives were used in his homemade recipes or cost-cutting ideas. We have added some new items to our menu, but continue to carry on with Lenny’s Legacy of success.