The steaming slice, the checkerboard floor, the chef statue at the front door, the shelter of the black awning bearing its name, the wonderful smell that hits you the minute you get in the door. Decades of diners have enjoyed the food, the familiarity and the family of Durham House of Pizza.
DHOP, as it’s affectionately known by local residents and University of New Hampshire students, is a cornerstone of the college town community. In November, the business that is still owned and operated by the same family will celebrate 50 years in business.
The Petrovitsis family’s commitment to serving consistently great pizzas, calzones and salads is eclipsed only by its commitment to the community. For five decades, the business has donated to local and student organizations and nonprofits, employed a legion of students and local residents, created a place for families and friends to gather, catered special celebrations, supported local teams and events, and quietly served anyone in need.
How Durham House of Pizza started in 1976
When Stephen Petrovitsis and his father, James, opened the restaurant in November 1976, Stephen was living in Peabody, Massachusetts, where he grew up, and commuting to Durham seven days a week around his 18-hour restaurant shifts. Stephen had been working in a friend’s sandwich shop, his father wanted to set him up in business, and they decided on a pizza restaurant. It was first located in what is now the Mill Pond Plaza, where most recently the Rite Aid pharmacy was located. Stephen was 19 years old.
They used family recipes for the pizza dough and sauce. His father made a special Greek salad dressing. A small pizza cost $1.35. A large pizza rang in at $2.50. Stephen’s father was in real estate and owned several buildings in town over the years, and in 1982 the restaurant moved into the building behind where it’s now located at 38 Main St.
Stephen Petrovitsis continued to work very hard building the business along with members of his family and students they hired. He lived in apartments in his family’s buildings, which meant it was easier to do those long hours the restaurant required. He married his wife, Rennie, in 1987, and the newlyweds bought a home in Madbury. Rennie was a nurse, but joined the family business and played a huge part in it. They had four sons — James, Justin, Jordan and John — and raised them attending Oyster River schools, but they might have spent more time at the restaurant than at home. The boys often joke they went “from crib to crust.”
“I remember being on tiptoe, stretching to reach the counter and trying to help serve slices,” Jordan said.
They were surrounded by aunts, uncles, cousins and other family members who helped behind the counter. Eventually, in 1991, the couple opened JP’s Grill, the restaurant next door, named it for their sons, and their mom Rennie managed JP’s while their dad managed DHOP. They sold JP’s about two years ago, and now Justin, Jordan and John manage DHOP as their dad tries to step away from the business, even though he admits he still stops in most days.
“It’s kind of exciting. So many things have changed over the years,” Stephen said of the 50th anniversary. “I’m very proud.”
Durham House of Pizza moves to a new generation in family
The checkerboard floor is gone. A recent renovation replaced it and put in marble countertops. The dining room is the same with updated decor and seats 48. Petro, the pizza chef statue, is still at the door. Kids still stop and beg their parents to take photos with him. Stephen’s parents’ photos are still in a corner as they’ve always been, next to a poster celebrating DHOP’s 40th anniversary.
“Mom and Dad are over there watching us all the time,” Stephen said. “They keep an eye on us.”
Stephen said he used to run a promotion asking customers to take a photo of a DHOP T-shirt wherever they were in the world and send it to him to display; one came back to him from Egypt. The T-shirts now read “Live Free and Eat Pizza” and “Hot Girls Eat Pizza” and can be bought online. They’ve started bottling Papou’s Famous Greek Dressing, a recipe developed by Stephen’s father James that they use on the DHOP Greek salad, and selling it online and at the restaurant. The restaurant just started selling beer, including local brews like Stoneface Brewing’s Sunday Sauce, of course, and Deciduous Brewing’s Go ‘Cats.
“The best thing I ever did was transfer the business over to these kids because they do a great job. I’m very proud of them,” Stephen said. Since 2012, the three brothers started joining the business as they graduated from school.
“You can never complain about learning from somebody that’s done this their whole life, 50 years,” Justin said about working with his father. “It’s a lot of knowledge to absorb and you learn a work ethic. You learn how to respect the customers and appreciate everything, and just enjoy your job.”
They said they learned living in and growing up in the restaurant environment. Only one studied and earned a degree in restaurant management.
“We all work really well together. No drama involved. We all kind of understand,” Justin said. “We’re here to do the same thing, and we’ve all been taught by him to do the exact same things.”
Jordan said he appreciates “working together and staying close with everyone in the family. I like working in a family small business.”
That family business, which usually employs between 15 and 20, attracts and retains employees, who become family themselves.
“I think that’s why our employees enjoy working with us so much. It’s a much closer feel. We see our employees years and years later,” John said, noting he met up with a former manager at a restaurant in the Netherlands, where he lives now, for a visit.
“It’s a very different feel from working in a corporate-owned kitchen,” Justin said.
DHOP changes with times, but favorites and traditions remain
They said their best-selling items are still cheese and pepperoni pizzas as Nos. 1 and 2. Of their specialty pizzas, they said it’s The Mediterranean with spinach, artichoke hearts, feta cheese and tomatoes. The Greek salad is popular, too.
Stephen’s favorite pizza is cheese “plain and simple.” Justin’s favorite on the menu is the cheesy breadsticks, followed by the chicken club pizza with chicken and bacon. John’s favorite is the cheese pizza “because if you can make a great cheese pizza, you can put any toppings on it and it will be great.” Jordan’s favorite is pepperoni with “an unhealthy handful of fresh red pepper” on it.
DHOP serves between 1,000 to 2,000 pizzas a week on average, depending on the week and what’s happening on campus. If there’s a sports game, especially a UNH hockey game, or the recent Parents Weekend, they know it’s going to be busy, really busy.
On a busy day, they said, they can go through 1,000 pounds of cheese and make 1,200 to 1,500 pizzas.
Their busiest day of the year has become Kentucky Derby Day, they said. It used to be Cinco de Mayo, but because that moves around a lot and can happen on a Monday, for example, they said since the pandemic, the students are making a much bigger deal of the Kentucky Derby. It’s always on the first Saturday in May so they know they don’t have school, it’s getting nice outside, it’s toward the end of the semester, and they all like getting dressed up for parties. They said DHOP can serve 2,000 pizzas on that one day, with a line out the door from 1 p.m. to 2 a.m.
They said they get it all done with planning, organization, “science,” and loving it.
“We all kind of thrive on the chaos,” John said. “I like the stress.”
One of the reasons for DHOP’s longevity is the family’s decision to “always be fair,” as Stephen puts it. It’s a place you can feed the family affordably, or a starving student can always afford to grab a slice.
“We did the $1.50 slice as our late-night special for years,” Justin said, serving as the place students could grab something hot late at night when the bars were closing.
UNH alumni fondly remember DHOP daily specials that made for appointment dining for their group of friends. Families of the 1990s remember looking forward weekly to the Tuesday Two (large cheese pizzas) for $10 special.
“Monday night, she’s pretty popular,” Stephen said of the current 2026 Monday special of a small cheese pizza for $7.95. If it’s Tuesday, it’s $11.50 for a large 16-inch pizza. If it’s Wednesday, the special is a super 20-inch cheese pizza for $19.50. Thursdays bring a cheese calzone for $7.50, just to name a few. Monday through Friday, the lunch special is two slices and a soda for $9.
“We’ve met so many, so many good customers. … from Lee, Madbury, of course, Durham, the students at UNH, faculty, staff. We have so much to be thankful for,” Stephen said. “I’ve met kids from all over the country. Politicians, they all come into the store. That’s the biggest thing that I like about being in business is meeting the people.”
The second generation has caught his enthusiasm.
“Being on a college campus, it’s like every four years, it’s a new batch of people,” Justin said. “We have four years of new people to meet, and the town is such a small local community. We do our best to focus on the Durham community while also being on a college campus, supporting the locals, and it’s interesting to see how the town has changed over the years.”
“It’s a constant cycle of new people all the time. It’s good to meet the new locals, meet the new students, and build a community of people you know,” Justin said. “We get so many regulars in here. It’s like you become friends with them at the same time so it’s fun.”
Durham House of Pizza‘s connections run deep in UNH, Durham community
Of the restaurant’s success, Stephen said, “It’s really not the pizza, it’s the people.”
He thinks of the people who once worked at DHOP and bring their own kids to college at UNH and return for a meal. He remembers the people who met there and ended up getting married. He said former employees will come in and ask if they can work while they’re in town visiting. Stephen has stayed in touch with at least one of his employees from back in 1976.
He remembers all the UNH athletes who became regulars at the restaurant, especially hockey players who went on to become professional athletes, and who he’s followed through the years.
He was once traveling in Greece and heard someone say, “Hey, there’s the DHOP guy.”
“I give as much as I can,” Stephen said about his community involvement. He remembers the tough time during the COVID pandemic shutdown when the students were all gone and they were only taking pizzas out to the curb to people in their cars. He said he received so many notes and letters from customers thanking the family, some containing $50 or $100 checks.
“I couldn’t believe what I was getting in the mail,” he said. “That touched me so much. I was opening them and saying, ‘Are you kidding me?’ It was the thought and what they wrote. It was unbelievable they would do that. This community backed us so much, and I can’t thank them enough. When I see them, it’s not a hello, it’s a hug.”
He said it’s important to him for his business to give back.
“My father always said one hand shakes the other. You have to help. You can’t just take. You got to give. So I give as much as I can,” Stephen said. “My dad always said, if someone comes through that door and if they don’t have any money, you give them anything they want. … If someone needs something, I’m there for them. And that’s what I passed on to the boys, and they think the same.”
This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat. Reporting by Jane Murphy, Special to Foster’s Daily Democrat
