By Jesse Wood
March 8, 2013. Mike Sollecito passed away this morning at the age of 91.
Born in Manhattan in 1922 to Italian parents, Sollecito served in the U.S. Army during World War II. In the ‘70s he moved to the High Country and opened what became a fixture in Boone – Sollecito’s Pizza.
Sollecito’s was located on Rivers Street where Amalfi’s Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria currently exists. It was open for a quarter of a century from 1974 to 1999.
Sollecito’s was one of the first places – if not the first place – in the High Country to showcase karaoke, and Sollecito was known for his Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra renditions – including “That’s Amore,” where Sollecito would croon “When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s amore.”
Hampton Funeral Service is in charge of the arrangements. A Catholic mass will be held at St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church on March 10, 2013, at 3 p.m. Family will receive friends after the mass at the Fellowship Hall.
For Sollecito’s obituary from Hampton, click here.
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