Grotto Pizza Millsboro opens with 'backyard' dining area

You can now get your Grotto pizza, wings and gelato in Millsboro.

Grotto Pizza's 23rd location is open at 30201 Commerce Drive.

The new restaurant features a "backyard" concept, where patrons can dine outdoors around a fire pit.

“The new backyard design and outdoor open area serves as both a ‘thank you’ to the families that support us, as well as a potential blueprint for the look and feel of Grotto Pizza stores as we look to the future and continue to grow," said Jeff Gosnear, vice president of Grotto Pizza.

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At full capacity, the Millsboro restaurant will employ 75 people.

Grotto Pizza Millsboro is open daily at 11 a.m. and closes at 11 p.m., except on Friday and Saturdays, when it closes at 1 a.m.

Founder Dominick Pulieri opened the first Grotto Pizza in Rehoboth Beach in 1960. Now, it's not only synonymous with Delaware beach vacations, but available in Maryland and Pennsylvania, too.

Check out these Grotto numbers gathered by The News Journal/Delaware Online's Ryan Cormier in 2019.

1,400,000: Pounds of dough made by Grotto Pizza annually.

1,100,000: Pounds of cheddar cheese used each year.

450,000: Gallons of sauce used annually.

10,000: Pounds of dough produced in a single day in the summer at Grotto's Lewes commissary. 

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