Walk into any pizza place with mob-themed decor and you’ll see the usual suspects: movie posters plastered on every wall, red checkered tablecloths, “fuhgeddaboudit” signs hanging in the bathroom. Most of them are all style, no substance—slapping some Italian stereotypes on mediocre food and hoping nobody notices the difference.
The name “Wise Guys” isn’t a marketing gimmick dreamed up in a boardroom. For Mike, it’s his life.
Mike grew up in the streets of New York and fell in love with the mob persona of the Godfather and Goodfellas movies. But here’s what most people don’t understand: those movies resonated because they showed real Italian-American culture. Not the caricature. Not the stereotype. The real thing.
The family dinners where three generations gathered around one table. The loyalty that ran deeper than blood. The neighborhood connections where everyone knew your name and your business. The food that was made with pride, not just profit.
Mike didn’t watch Goodfellas and think “cool marketing angle.” He watched it and saw his own life playing out on screen. The family deli where he started working for his Uncle Tommy back in the 1970s—that was the life those movies depicted. Working alongside his brothers Matty and Ralphy, learning the craft from Uncle Tommy, building something together with his friend Richy who’s been by his side for over 40 years. That wasn’t Hollywood. That was Tuesday.
In New York, the neighborhood Italian deli wasn’t just a business. It was the heart of the community. It was where you went for Sunday dinner ingredients, where you stopped to catch up on neighborhood news, where you learned what it meant to do things the right way. Uncle Tommy didn’t just teach Mike how to slice meat or make a hero. He taught him that your name is your reputation, and your reputation is everything.
That’s the world those movies captured. That’s the world Mike came from.
In 1999, when Mike opened his Rockledge location, he named it “Goodfellas Deli.” Some people raised eyebrows. They saw the mob reference and assumed it was about glorifying organized crime. They missed the point entirely.
It wasn’t about the criminal element. It was about capturing that Italian-American spirit—the brotherhood, the loyalty, the commitment to doing things the right way. The word “goodfellas” literally means good fellows. Good people. The ones you trust with your business, your family, your life.
Look at the family photo from those early days: Matty, Ralphy, Uncle Tommy, Mike, Richy—all working together, all committed to the same standard of excellence. That’s what “goodfellas” meant. Family. Trust. People who show up every single day and give everything they’ve got.
The evolution to “Wise Guys” wasn’t a rebrand. It was recognition of what Mike had become after 35-plus years grinding in this business. Successful. Tough. Professional. These aren’t mob traits—these are the traits of someone who’s been doing this since the 1970s and refuses to cut corners.
“Wise Guys” captures that street-smart New York sensibility. You learn a lot in five decades behind the counter. You get wise. You figure out what matters and what’s just noise. You develop a philosophy that sounds simple but takes a lifetime to earn: “This is my way or the highway. 35-plus years in the business, I know how to make this work.”
That’s not arrogance. That’s confidence earned through decades of showing up, through trial and error, through doing it right when it would have been easier to do it fast. The name represents experience, authenticity, and knowing your craft so well that you don’t need to explain yourself.
Mike’s non-negotiables haven’t changed since Uncle Tommy taught them to him in the 1970s: product quality, presentation of the food, cleanliness. These weren’t learned from a corporate training manual or a consultant’s PowerPoint. They were learned in a New York deli when doing things half-way meant losing your reputation in a neighborhood that never forgot.
Authenticity means doing it the right way even when shortcuts exist. It means using the best locally sourced ingredients you can get, not the cheapest. It means looking at every pizza, every sub, every plate before it leaves the shop to make sure it looks delicious. It means keeping your tables clean, your front door spotless, and your windows clear—because that’s what respect looks like.
These are old-school New York Italian standards that you can’t fake: respect the ingredients, respect the customer, respect yourself. When Mike says he knows how to make this work, he’s not guessing. He’s drawing on 50 years of knowledge that started in Uncle Tommy’s deli and continues today at 117 East Merritt Avenue.
Those mob movies everyone loves? The food scenes are what people actually remember. The family dinner in The Godfather. The prison dinner scene in Goodfellas where they’re slicing garlic with a razor blade. The Sunday sauce simmering for hours. The food wasn’t a prop in those movies—it was central to the culture.
At Wise Guys, every pizza, every sub, every plate reflects that same respect for the craft. The cheese pizza with its thin crust, not too much sauce, not too much cheese—just the perfect balance Mike learned decades ago. The Deluxe with everything but the kitchen sink. The White Pizza that showcases how simple ingredients become something special when you know what you’re doing.
The signature subs carry names that tell the story: The Wise Guy Combo, The Cousin Vinnie, The Godfather, The Wanna Be. These aren’t gimmicks slapped on generic sandwiches. Each one represents something real—a person, a memory, a standard of quality that can’t be mass-produced.
When you order The Godfather—grilled chicken with Italian dressing, sautéed onion, and fresh mozzarella toasted on a garlic hero—you’re not just getting a sandwich. You’re getting 50 years of knowing exactly how each ingredient should taste together.
Mike started his family young, which meant he had to provide 24/7 with no days off. That’s the reality behind those romanticized movie scenes. Not the glamour. Not the excitement. The endless work. The sacrifice. The building something for your family one sandwich, one pizza, one day at a time.
Uncle Tommy did it. Mike did it. Now his daughter Stephanie is learning it. It’s not glamorous work. It’s tough, demanding, and unforgiving. You can’t show up halfway. You can’t take shortcuts. You can’t compromise on the standards that took generations to build.
But it’s honorable work. It’s the kind of work where you can look yourself in the mirror and know you did it right. Where you can put your name on the door and stand behind every single thing that goes out. Where you can teach your daughter the same lessons Uncle Tommy taught you, knowing those lessons actually mean something.
In 2025, “authenticity” has become the most overused word in marketing. Every chain restaurant claims to be authentic. Every fast-casual concept promises real ingredients and family recipes. Everyone’s got a story about their Italian grandmother and her secret sauce.
But real authenticity can’t be manufactured in a test kitchen or rolled out across 47 locations. It can’t be taught in a weekend training session. When Mike says he grew up on the streets of New York, that’s not a tagline—that’s his life. When he names a sandwich “The Godfather,” he’s not trying to be clever for social media. He’s paying respect to the culture that shaped him.
You can’t fake 50 years of doing it the right way. You can’t simulate the knowledge that comes from working alongside Richy for four decades. You can’t manufacture the standards that Uncle Tommy instilled in the 1970s. Either you lived it, or you didn’t.
The Wise Guys name represents more than movies. It represents a lifetime of learning from Uncle Tommy, working alongside Richy through every challenge, and now passing that knowledge to Stephanie. It represents starting with nothing in a family deli and building something through work, sacrifice, and never compromising on the things that matter.
That’s what being a wise guy really means. Being street-smart enough to know what works. Being family-loyal enough to show up every day. Being tough enough to maintain standards for five decades when it would have been easier to let them slide.
Come taste the difference that authenticity makes. Not the marketing-speak kind. The real kind.
Wise Guys Pizzeria
117 East Merritt Avenue, Merritt Island, FL 32953
321.305.4055
Open Tuesday-Saturday 11am-9pm
Sundays and Mondays 11am-8pm (During Football Season)
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321.305.4055