With New Owners, Teddy's Pizza is Business as Usual

Patrick Manning, left, Wil Bilis, Teddy and Susan Bilis, and new owners Jennifer and Mike Manning.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — One of the city's oldest eateries has changed hands to another local family but remains open and unchanged.

Teddy's Pizza Restaurant on East Street has been purchased by Mike Manning, who is continuing its 50-year legacy as the long-loved pizzeria and family restaurant everyone knows.

"I grew up eating lunch here while at Pittsfield High and that's kind of like a generational thing," he explained. "Everybody comes here, and here we are and we decided to give it a go."

He emphasized that it will be the "same exact menu, same exact recipes, everything stays the same."  On Monday, they were getting pizza training from the Bilis family, who opened Teddy's in 1974.

Manning and his wife, Jennifer, have a large family and one of their children, Patrick, will be working at Teddy's during the winter. The family owns three other businesses in the area including Patriot Driveway Inc. and will employ some pavers in the off-season.

"We're just really excited. Our kids all came through here and went to Pittsfield High and it's just iconic," Jennifer Manning said.

"We're excited to keep it going but we also have a lot to learn and these guys are being gracious and they're going to stay on and be a consult to us even after they're gone."

The new owners also plan to continue the tradition of supporting local sports teams.

There had reportedly been social media buzz wrongfully reporting that the East Street eatery was closing and the new owners wanted to clear the air, explaining that it has been a seamless handoff and the operation will not be affected.

Truck Crashes Into Pittsfield's Samel's Deli

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
10:55AM / Wednesday, April 30, 2025

Elm Street will be partially closed as cleanup continues. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Wednesday morning was busy for Pittsfield first responders, as a pickup truck crashed into Samel's Deli & Catering and a fire broke out on First Street.

Around 9:45 a.m., the police reported that the street in front of Samel's Deli & Catering would be closed or down to one lane as a result of a two-car collision that sent the truck careening into the deli.

The department posted two photos on Facebook, one depicting the silver truck with New York license plates crashed through the glass of the front entrance and another of a white Honda CR-V with significant damage to the front end.

"A vehicle was coming out of one of the alleyways here and struck this truck, which continued into the building," Police Officer Craig Jones explained when iBerkshires arrived on the scene.

Jones reported that there was one injury but whether it was someone in the vehicles or in the deli. A crossing signal near Samel's front entrance was also taken out by the truck.

Around this time, crews worked to clear debris in front of the restaurant as the truck was towed away. That section of the road reopened around 11 a.m.

The police, firefighters and an ambulance responded to the accident and police intend to release a statement on the incident.

Around 6:15 a.m., the Fire Department reported that it had responded to a possible structure fire at 233-235 First St. Windows on all three floors of the multi-family building are now broken or boarded up and the cause is under investigation by the Fire Investigation Unit and investigators from the State Fire Marshal's Office.