Rosco’s New York Style Pizzeria opened to the public on April 1. In an announcement, owner Casey Allen reminded said this was no April Fool’s joke. The restaurant, located at 9 Main St., takes over from Tyler’s New York Style Pizzeria, which had operated out of the same building.

Allen knows it well; he was an employee at Tyler’s for six years. He said the old owners reached out to see if he would be interested in taking over the reins, which he enthusiastically did. He thanked the Clark family, who owned Tyler’s, for a seamless transition.

“They’ve been so awesome with the transition,” he said. “I couldn’t have asked for a smoother process.”

Allen said the restaurant was only closed for two days between Tyler’s closing and Rosco’s opening on April 1. He plans to add his own twist to some of the offerings, but said the recipes would largely be consistent with what people were accustomed to with Tyler’s.

Rosco’s New York Style Pizzeria owner Casey Allen smiles next to his first dollar in Tupper Lake on Monday. Allen said he will eventually get it framed, but for now, a pin in the wall will suffice. (Enterprise photo — Chris Gaige)

Allen gained valuable restaurant experience not only as a six-year employee at Tyler’s, but most recently as a manager at Zuke’s Deli in Plattsburgh, a position he’s held for the past eight years.

“It definitely teaches you how to talk to people and how to deal with someone getting angry,” he said. “You just need to be nice to people. If you’re good to people, they seem to even change their attitude in the moment. Just calm down the situation, and they’re good back to you.”

Moving up from a manager to an owner — while not unexpected — has presented a lot for Allen to juggle. Much of that is the commute. Allen still lives in Plattsburgh, but plans to move back to Tupper Lake, his hometown, within the next month.

“Very hectic but it’s definitely been awesome,” he said. “I came in this morning to start dough at 9 o’clock. Lots of driving. Lots of long hours, which I expected, but not the 12 to 16 hours every day that I’ve been putting in.”

Despite the long hours, Allen said owning a small business has been an “incredibly” rewarding experience.

“Everyone is just very happy,” he said. “Everyone who’s been helping out and everyone who’s come in. I haven’t received a bad complaint yet. It’s very rewarding just to have everyone happy and excited to have my food.”

He attributed much of the experience on his end to a community-driven customer support base that he said has been second-to-none.

“I love all the support from Tupper Lake,” he said. “I could not ask for a better support system. The community has just been incredible.”

At the moment, Rosco’s is doing pick-up orders only. Allen said he is in the midst of renovating the restaurant’s bar area for eventual sit-downs. He hoped to have those done sometime in early summer, but said the focus at the moment is training new staff in the kitchen. Allen said he plans to apply for a beer license for the restaurant, which he said was less expensive, logistically easier and more family-friendly than a liquor license.

Allen also said he intends to roll out a mobile app for ordering. He said the app’s production was complete, and it was currently in testing to catch any bugs and fix the coding before its released to the public. He said the app serves two purposes: it’s a preferred ordering method for many younger customers, and it will help to keep the main phone line less busy for those who choose to order that way.

Allen said he posts the most up-to-date operational information on Facebook. While hours will likely shift as the restaurant gets into full swing, it is currently open Thursdays through Mondays from 3 to 10 p.m. each day. He had one message for those who haven’t placed an order yet.

“You gotta try our sheet pizza,” he said. “We’re the home of the sheet pizza, we’re the only one in town.”