Whether craving anything from a burger to prime rib, to soup and a sandwich — or, of course, a pizza — dining desires can be satisfied at Newtown Pizza Palace and Restaurant on Church Hill Road, opposite Commerce Road. A fixture in Newtown for nearly 50 years, the Pizza Palace has been in the hands of new owners Elias and Catherine Sofronas, Dila Dushku, and her brothers Alex and Gino since June 2011.

Ms Dushku is the hands-on general manager of the group and the friendly face that is now associated with Pizza Palace. She has been in the restaurant business for 22 years, as a waitress, bartender, and supervisor, and for the previous 16 years, running Aunt Chilada’s Mexican Restaurant on Whitney Avenue in Hamden.

In the 97-seat Pizza Palace restaurant, customers are seated at comfortable wood-trimmed booths, which provide a degree of privacy. At the front of the dining room, wide windows offer a view of bustling Church Hill Road. Gentle lighting brightens the area at the opposite end of the large room, offering a more intimate dining area. Stuccoed interior walls, decorated with framed black and white prints of historic Newtown scenes, are painted with a honey-colored wash, presenting an atmosphere as warm as the greetings extended by the staff to customers old and new. Walk-in customers can place an order and wait on one of the padded benches by the front door, which affords a view of the pizza-making process.

Mr Sofronas and Ms Dushku have worked to create a simplified menu that will be introduced to their customers this summer. They believe the lighter fare featured on the menu will appeal to their loyal, longtime customers as well as to newcomers to the Pizza Palace family. The new menu’s emphasis is on “really good pizza and healthy options,” said Ms Dushku.

Lighter menu items include the veggie burger, a moist Dr Praeger’s burger on a bun, with a side of sweet potato fries. The nine-grain sprouted bun is the popular choice with this sandwich — or with any of the other sandwiches on the menu.

A vegetable quesadilla is a new appetizer selection at Pizza Palace, made with onions, mushrooms, eggplant, spinach, and melted cheese on a tortilla.

The Pizza Palace Specialty Salad is already pleasing clientele. The salad of mixed greens, cucumbers, carrots, olives, tomatoes and shredded mozzarella is topped with Dee’s Salad Dressing, a house-recipe vinaigrette, made on site. Dee’s Salad Dressing is the ideal complement to any of the salads on the menu, said Ms Dushku, including the Cobb salad featuring bits of bacon, hardboiled egg, avocado, and tomato on a bed of lettuce.

The newest addition to the pizza menu is the mashed potato pizza. Fresh crumbled bacon and cheese are layered over freshly mashed potatoes on this pizza, available as an appetizer or in dinner sizes. Regular diners are familiar with the breakfast pizza, introduced this past year. Topped with scrambled eggs, a choice of breakfast meats, and mozzarella cheese, it satisfies the appetite any time of the day.

All of the dough and the signature sauce are made daily on premises, with red or white sauce available on the restaurant’s famous pan-style crust. The restaurant has created its own blend of shredded cheeses, as well, to make Pizza Palace pizza stand out from others in the area. Pizza Palace is happy to offer thin-crust or whole wheat crust, in any size, as well as a gluten-free pizza crust, in the 11-inch size.

In addition to the popular pizzas, customers enjoy a variety of grinders, sandwiches, pasta dishes, soups, and salads, as well as Greek specialties like the souvalaki salad with marinated chicken and feta cheese on a bed of greens, served with pita; gyros, moussaka, and pastitsio. Pizza Palace also offers a selection of fresh seafood, served fried of broiled, and daily specials.

Regular dinner offerings such as milk-fed veal, eggplant Parmigiana, and shrimp or chicken scampi are joined by dinner specials that range from American favorites like meatloaf and pot roast to eggplant rollatini or liver with bacon and onions. A new favorite is the Chicken a la Nicky: sautéed chicken is served with shallots and mushrooms in a Marsala wine cream sauce over linguini, and topped with mozzarella cheese and scallions.

Children 12 years of age and under can select from kid-friendly menu items like burgers, old-fashioned spaghetti and sauce, chicken Parmigiana, grilled cheese sandwich, or the newest addition, hot dogs. Children’s meals come with soda or milk, and french fries.

“We’re a great pizza place that offers other foods, and some drinks to go with it,” emphasized Ms Dushku. She and her partners look for beverages that complement the fare. The wine list features reasonably priced wines from California, all available by the glass, half carafe, full carafe, or by the bottle. Naughty Nurse beer, brewed in Hartford by City Steam, Blue Moon from Coors in Colorado, and Harpoon IPA from Harpoon Brewery in Boston are among the dozen craft and domestic beers sold at Pizza Palace. A refreshing addition to the summer beer menu is the Leinenkugel Summer Shandy, a lemonade-flavored beer.

Pizza Palace is as much about community as it is about food. The restaurant has partnered with the Newtown High School soccer and Color Guard teams for fundraisers to support the teams, as well as with the high school’s National Honor Society to raise funds for Relay For Life.

“We are pleased to have been embraced and supported by the community and the longtime staff, who have made our first year a smooth transition,” Ms Dushku said. “People should look for ads in The Newtown Bee for information about our first year anniversary celebration coming up later this summer,” she said.

Delivery to local businesses is available at lunchtime only. Customers may fax orders at 203-426-9388 or call 203-426-6114.

The full menu is available for takeout and can be found online at NewtownPizzaPalace.com. The restaurant offers a takeout special: with every five large pizzas ordered at the same time, receive a free large cheese pizza. The Pizza Palace also caters for parties, large and small.

The Newtown Pizza Palace and Restaurant, 65 Church Hill Road, serves from 11 am to 10 pm, seven days a week, and accepts all major credit cards. Phone, 203-426-6114; fax, 203-426-9388; or visit NewtownPizzaPalace.com.