Business & Tech

M&M Pizza Bistro Owners Look for New Start

Marly Maybruch and Matt McNerney have been answering questions about the unpleasant history behind their restaurant's location since they opened their doors earlier this month.

Marly Maybruch and Matt McNerney were excited about the deal they got to rent the space for their new restaurant -- M&M Pizza Bistro in Pearl River.

Then they found out about the previous tenant's legal troubles.

"Now we know why we got such a good price," McNerney said.

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M&M Pizza Bistro opened its doors earlier this month in Towne Plaza at 83 N. Middletown Road, the location formerly occupied by Three Daughter's Pizza. The owner of Three Daughter's Pizza, William Peck, and one of his employees, Michael Leone, were arrested on drug charges in January. They were accused of dealing from the store. According to Iracklis Realty, Peck was removed from the property because he was not paying his rent.

"This was such a good deal," Maybruch said. "It came with equipment. We didn't really know what happened. It wasn't until after, when we were talking to people, and we looked it up for ourselves."

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Maybruch and McNerney, an engaged couple who are both from Suffern, said they have been constantly answering questions about Peck and the old store that was in their location. The goal for now is to get the word out that they have no connection to him.

"I feel like people, even if they do see the new sign, they might think that he's still somehow behind the scenes," McNerney said. "What the landlord told me is that they had thrown him out and it was closed for a month or two. We came in and negotiated and we got a great deal.

"We want a clean start like anybody else. I feel like we're climbing up hill right now to not only open, but now we've got to get rid of this stigma as well."

McNerney, 26, and Maybruch, 25, both have training and experience with restaurants. McNerney graduated from the Culinary Institute of America. Maybruch went to the Institute of Culinary Education and has an associate's degree in hospitality administration from RCC.

"We both went to school for this. This is something we've always talked about doing," Maybruch said. "I don't know if we thought it would happen so soon."

McNerney said he managed Cicero's Pizza Express in Tallman for six years before he and Maybruch moved to San Diego, CA. They lived there for a year and a half before returning in March.

"We're expecting a baby in September, so we decided to move back to Rockland to be closer to our families," McNerney said. "The pizza business is something I'm very familiar with. We can bring more to the table than the average pizzeria."

McNerney said they pride themselves on not cutting corners with cheap ingredients and want to offer options not available in every pizza shop.

"We want to be a little bit different," McNerney said. "There are so many (pizza) places around. We have wraps and salads. We have more healthy options.  I can say our salads are completely different from every other pizzeria. We try to make as much as we can from scratch.

"We just want to give background about ourselves and do whatever we can to draw people in and let them know (this place) has new owners," McNerney said.

McNerney said that one positive is an influx of students from Pearl River High School, which is within walking distance acrosse Middletown Road, at lunch every day.

"We've been lucky," McNerney said. "Every day at lunch we get packed with kids. "

"We want to cater to them, also," Maybruch said. "They can just hang out in a safe environment. But it's hard to do that when their parents may be saying don't go to that store."


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