Owners Of Burned-Out Little Ferry Pizzeria Vow To Rebuild, Community Offers To Help

Nick and Joann Fytros had only recently bought Zio’s Pizza in Little Ferry, but their family restaurant quickly built a large and devoted customer base – many of whom were offering prayers and donations Thursday to help the couple recover from a crippling fire the night before.

The scene at Zio's Tuesday night. INSET: Nick & Joann Fytros
Photo Credit: *MAIN: Bill Tompkins / INSET: Facebook*

Jerry DeMarco

08/02/2018 4:34 p.m.

“We are beyond devasted,” Joann Fytros wrote in a Facebook morning post, “but as most of you know Nick is a fighter and will come back from this.”

Fytros, an EMT with Moonachie First Aid & Rescue Squad, also asked for prayers for a family – a husband, wife, 17-year-old daughter and dog -- who were displaced after living in the apartment upstairs the past 12 years.

Nick Fytros, the Little Ferry representative to the Ridgefield Park Board of Education, “put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears” into the Washington Avenue eatery, Angela Valente wrote on a GoFundMe campaign page.

“Business was booming, the food was amazing, and anyone who came in loved Zio's and felt like family,” she noted.

“Everyone who knows Nick and his family knows that they are generous, good-hearted, and always give to those in need,” Valente added. “They have supported the people of Little Ferry and it's time for us to support them.

“Please help rebuild Zio's so [they] can reopen its doors as soon as possible, as well as support their family during this difficult time.”

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CLICK HERE TO DONATE: https://www.gofundme.com/support-fytros-family-business-zios

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Authorities hadn’t officially declared the cause of the fire, which broke out just after 10 p.m. at what had once been Positano's Pizza. All units had returned from the scene by 12:30 p.m., they said.

They thanked all of their colleagues who rushed to assist – including Bergen County sheriff’s officers and police from East Rutherford, Hackensack, Hasbrouck Heights, Moonachie, Ridgefield Park, Wallington and Wood-Ridge, along with borough police and other emergency responders.

Joann Fytros added: “A great big thank you also to all the firefighters from the various agencies who worked quickly to extinguish the fire, and Little Ferry First Aid Corp for their help with their rehab.”

She and her husband of 17 years also thanked “all our family and friends who called, texted and showed up to be by our side last night.”

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