If you walk into Ramy’s Pizzeria in Apple Valley and speak with new owner Joe Barone, you might think you stepped through a portal and landed in New York City. Barone’s New York accent and no-nonsense attitude show he means business, and his business is to put a new menu of mouth-wateringly delicious pizza in front of his customers.

Joe and his son, Brendin Barone, became the new owners of the former Ramy’s Mediterranean Cuisine and Pizzeria on July 1 after the previous owners decided to leave the area.

The father and son team have been regulars at Ramy’s in the last couple years. Joe has been a fan for quite some time, he said, and Brendin was been an employee for the past three years.

When they found out that the owners were leaving, they jumped at the opportunity to make Ramy’s their own.

“I don’t like the chain pizza places,” Barone said. “I’m from New York, which has great pizza. I just thought these guys had pretty good pizza, and before you know it we are in negotiations.”

Brendin worked mainly as a delivery driver under previous ownership. But the recent graduate from the Art Institute of Minnesota didn’t just deliver pizzas—he was routinely sent to grocery stores for ingredients for the day’s pizza orders.

Brendin recalled numerous times when he had to go get ingredients on a per-order basis during busy times of the day. With the future of Ramy’s now in their hands, the father and son hope to bring more order to the pizzeria’s chaotic rush hours.

“They were more seat-of-the-pants kind of owners,” Joe said. “We are trying to be a little more organized.”

Joe and Brendin plan on making some changes to the restaurant. A new menu will be rolling out in a few weeks, which will get rid of some of the Mediterranean-style items and add more Italian ones.

They also have aspirations to change the décor, including new paint, pictures and seating. Expansion into the neighboring block of commercial space may also be a possibility.

So far, business has gone well for the father-son duo; the summer months brought in plenty of customers hungry for good pizza, they said.

And as the weather gets colder, deliveries should start picking up as well, Brendin said, giving ample opportunity to show more people just how good pizza can get.