Kapp's Pizza reopens Kapp's Pizza reopens (October 15, 2004)

Castro landmark will change ownership

By Jon Wiener

Kapp's Pizza opened its doors with little fanfare last Friday after a summer-long closure.

Joe Kapp said he and his brother Larry will continue to be involved with the restaurant despite its pending sale to South Bay restaurateur Humberto Acevedo.

A notice in the window, overshadowed by the large "Now Open" banner, announced the change of ownership. Acevedo was behind the bar this week serving and meeting customers as they were seated. He said the restaurant -- a landmark building at the corner of Villa and Castro Streets that doubles as an unofficial museum of Stanford-Cal football history (Joe Kapp was the coach at Berkeley during the famous 1983 game) -- would keep its name.

The pizzeria originally closed after Larry Kapp, a prominent figure in the local business community, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He had an operation in late August, according to Joe Kapp, and continues to require a lot of rest as part of his recovery.

"It's a good ending compared to what it could have been," Joe Kapp said, adding that as his brother regained his strength, he was hoping to resume activity at the restaurant.

Everything at the restaurant was running smoothly Tuesday though Kapp lamented the cable was not reconnected in time for the first game of the Red Sox-Yankees playoff series.

Despite a somewhat slow start, Kapp said he is looking forward to regaining the clientele and seeing staff return.

Most of all, he was just happy to see it open again.

"We're good for the street," said Kapp.

E-mail Jon Wiener at jwiener@mv-voice.com

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