PORT ORANGE, Fla. – Forty years ago, Marco Falletta’s father took him to a comic book shop for the first time, but little did he know this would be his canon event.
Falletta strolled around the store passing by tons of different comics, but one captured his eye — “The Amazing Spider-Man #238.”
“Since that day I haven’t stopped collecting and any time I see that particular book, I buy it,” Falletta told News 6. “Now, I own 39 copies of that book.”
Falletta’s love for comics led him to open Arkham Asylum Comics in Port Orange.
“It’s done so well that I actually quit my full-time job (...) to be honest, we opened it just for a hobby,” he said.
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Now, Falletta is taking this passion for superhero stories and combining it with another slice of his life – pizza.
“My family has been in the pizza business for over 40 years. My father came from Sicily, then moved to New York where he became a pizza man,” Falletta said.
He is set to open Gotham City Pizza on Aug. 1 at 3761 S. Nova Road. The pizza joint is a mile away from Arkham Asylum Comics.
This is the second Gotham City Pizza shop to open, as he operated the first in Ormond Beach. He sold that shop due to personal reasons and the new owner then closed it six months later.
“Pizza and comics are my passion, so I decided why not combine them both and give the city something unique and different?” Falletta said.
Falletta says that when you enter the eatery, you will be transported to the world of comic books.
“Not only will you be able to get amazing Italian food, but we will also be selling memorabilia and special items, superhero-themed as well,” Falletta said.
He said the menu items will be named after certain characters’ aliases and will even offer a unique food challenge.
The challenge, dubbed the “Infinity Gauntlet,” is a three-foot Stromboli. If you finish it within 30 minutes, you get the meal free, a T-shirt and a picture hung on the “Wall of Justice.”
All in all, Falletta doesn’t have plans to expand and grow this brand further for now, but he’s excited about creating this new experience for the community.
The menu and operating hours have not been released yet. Click here to see updates when available.
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