Then he moved to New Jersey to work on a Bocce-like pizza for an operation named Dolce, a company with a partner who got interested in Bocce when he was a University at Buffalo student. Powers eventually went into construction, before returning to Buffalo in the early 1990s.

He took over the Abbott Road Bocce store in 1992, and renamed it Imperial.

Ever since, the recipe hasn’t changed, Powers said, as he and Bouris make the pizza their high school selves loved. Whole-milk mozzarella. Margherita pepperoni. “We absolutely refuse to waver from the product, ever.”

In 1994, they sold a second Imperial location, and used the proceeds to buy the Abbott Road property, he said.

At present, the biggest challenge is finding good help, he said. With the opening of the dining room, there are more than 100 people on the payroll. “They’re dedicated, and we pay them well,” Powers said. “Finding enough of those people is the challenge.”

Another challenge is parking. The 35-space lot fills quickly, and others have to park on the street. Parking concerns are taken seriously enough, Powers said, that Imperial is considering becoming the first pizza parlor in Buffalo with valet parking.