Alfonso’s Gourmet Pizza & Pasta Shop

A Family Business Built on Food, Heart, and Hard Work

Benji has been making Italian food his whole life. His family came from Albania and got their start in the restaurant business working alongside Italian pizzerias in the Bronx, and that is where the foundation was built. Years later, after running their own Italian restaurant in Texas, Benji and his wife Lily were ready for a new chapter. They wanted a quieter place to raise their five kids. Hillsborough felt like the answer, and they bought Alfonso’s.

Lily works the front, answers the phones, and makes sure every person who walks in or calls feels welcome. Their son Tim handles phones, deliveries, and all the behind-the-scenes paperwork that keeps the business running. Their son Blaine works the pizza station and has developed a real feel for the craft, much like his father. The whole operation runs as a family, because that is exactly what it is.

Benji does most of the cooking, drawing on more than 20 years of experience and recipes refined over a long time. Customers who have been ordering from Alfonso’s for years say the food is as good as it has ever been. Some say better.

Lily checks her reviews at the end of every long night. Not as a business metric, but because seeing that someone left satisfied makes the hours worth it. She knows her regulars by name. She texts them if she has not seen them in a while. She genuinely misses them when they are gone.

Alfonso’s serves dine-in, takeout, delivery, and catering. The lunch special, two slices and a drink, has become a favorite in the area. The Sicilian, the grandma pie, the Italian hot dog, the eggplant parm sub, the personal deep dish. There is a lot on the menu that people keep coming back for.