If it's important to you, it's important to us. That's what we take with us going into your big day.
Special Events
All About Us
Family and tradition are 2 of the most important things to us. We go back over 80 years to Ma Panza and her husband Joseph coming all the way from Napoli. They started with a bakery in Mechanicville and they were the first in the area to bring Neopolitan style brick oven pizza to the region. They worked hard and their cooking showed it. Not long after, they were famous for their cuisine and secret recipes. That’s a little bit of what RK Hospitality wants to bring back. An event or occasion bringing family & friends together over a wonderful meal.
85 years later, the love of hospitality is still in the family. Tony Panza’s nephew Rich has taken over operations of the lake location and if Richie Junior takes over the business one day, that’ll be 7 generations of Panza’s carrying on a proud tradition.
Rich actually learned all of the restaurant fundaments from his great grandfather Andrew Panza, front of the house and banquet hospitality from his Uncle Michael Panza, and how to manage a kitchen from his other uncle Tony Panza. That’s not to say there haven’t been others since Rich started washing dishes at the age of 13. From there, he was working at the track when he got a break when a different busser didn’t show up. Then Rich ran home to get a tie to take their position and has eventually taken on every position in the business. Other than serving in the US army in Afghanistan and his carpentry skills he uses to make repairs on the property, Rich has had the service industry coursing through his veins from a young age.
Although now that Rich has taken over the captain’s chair, things won’t be too different. Although we're no longer called Panza's Catering, we are still able to cater to a range of clients. From high end weddings, to simple luncheons at our Panza's on the Lake location on Saratoga Lake
And now, the future looks bright for RK Hospitality. As a business, we want to focus on becoming a leader in the hospitality industry for the greater capital region as the community begins to get back to normal. However, as a family, we want to focus on bringing laughs and love around the dinner table. Along with the help of veteran chef extraordinaire, Tina Clements, we hope to be bringing you some laughs and love very soon
