Family Owned Since 1975
About Us
Our Story
From a Manhattan Pizzeria
to the Wyoming Valley
In the early 1970s, a young Italian immigrant named Gaetano Buonsante was honing his craft in one of Manhattan's busiest pizzerias. He learned the art of New York-style pizza the hard way — stretching dough by hand, ladling sauce with precision, pulling pies from a deck oven at exactly the right second. It wasn't just a job for Gaetano. It was a calling.
By 1975, Gaetano had perfected his recipe and was ready to build something of his own. He opened a small pizza shop inside the Wyoming Valley Mall in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and named it after the person who inspired his love of cooking — his father, Dino. From that first day, the counter was packed. People tasted something different: real dough made fresh that morning, sauce that simmered for hours, cheese cut by hand. It was the kind of pizza you remembered.
What started as a small counter near the JC Penney entrance grew into a full sit-down restaurant with 40 seats, a loyal following that spans generations, and a reputation as one of the best pizzerias in all of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Nearly 50 years later, the recipe hasn't changed — because you don't fix what's already perfect.
The counter at Dino's — where fresh pies have been served since 1975.
The Dino's Difference
What Makes Us Different
Fresh Dough, Every Morning
No frozen shortcuts. Our pizza dough is made from scratch every single day, just like Gaetano did when he opened the doors in 1975. You can taste the difference in every bite.
Sauce That Takes Five Hours
One hour of meticulous prep, four hours of slow simmering. Our homemade sauce is a labor of love — the same Italian recipe that Gaetano brought with him from New York.
We Cut Our Own Cheese
While most pizzerias use pre-shredded bags, we hand-cut and prepare our own cheese in-house. It melts better, stretches better, and tastes like it should — real.
A Family Secret Recipe
The recipe that defines Dino's was perfected by Gaetano in a Manhattan pizzeria and carried to Wilkes-Barre. It's been passed down through the family, never written in any book — only taught hand to hand.
Second Generation
Carrying the Torch
Growing up, Dominic Buonsante didn't just eat his father's pizza — he lived it. As a young apprentice working alongside Gaetano behind the counter at Wyoming Valley Mall, Dominic learned every step of the craft: how to stretch the dough so it's thin but never tears, how to tell when the sauce has simmered long enough just by the smell, how to slide a pizza into the oven at exactly the right angle. These weren't lessons from a cookbook. They were lessons from a father.
Today, Dominic leads Dino's as the second generation of the Buonsante family to run the restaurant. He carries the same obsession with quality that his father brought from New York — fresh dough every morning, sauce cooked low and slow, cheese cut by hand. Nothing has been cut or compromised.
In 2016, Dominic and his wife Kendra expanded the family legacy by opening Dino's Pizza Express at 41 S. Main Street in downtown Wilkes-Barre, bringing the same recipe and the same standards to a new neighborhood. Whether you visit the original at the mall or the downtown shop, you get the same Dino's — because there's only one way to make it.
“The Good Dinos”
— What the Wyoming Valley has called us for nearly 50 years
What People Say
Community Love
4.4 stars on Google from 693 reviews. 4.9 stars on Slice from 94 reviews. But the words mean more than the numbers.
“By far the best pizza in Northeastern Pennsylvania.”
Google Review
“Dinos isn't just good mall pizza — it's just good f***ing pizza.”
Barstool Sports
“In my humble opinion this is the best pizza in Wilkes-Barre.”
Google Review
“Great football pizza. Big slices, crisp crust, sauce and cheese are on point.”
Google Review
“A Wyoming Valley staple. The pizza is consistently excellent — the kind of place you bring your kids to, just like your parents brought you.”
Times-Tribune
“Hands down the best NY-style pizza outside of New York. Big, foldable, crispy slices every single time.”
Slice Review
Featured in the Times-Tribune and Times Leader pizza trail coverage
Experience the Tradition
Visit us at Wyoming Valley Mall or order online today. Nearly 50 years of handmade pizza, slow-cooked sauce, and family pride in every slice.