Santa Claus came early this year to Cucinella’s Brick Oven Pizzeria in Madison, Florida, and bright-eyed children and adults alike sat down with the jolly old elf for cookies, conversation and, of course, pizza.
The event, which also featured an appearance by The Grinch, took place on Saturday, December 7, in conjunction with the Light Up Madison holiday event and parade. Cucinella’s offered free cookies, hot cocoa, live music and the chance for kiddos to whisper their gift requests in Santa’s ear.
All too often, hometown pizzerias create and promote events like Cookies With Santa on social media and don’t follow up with photos. Cucinella’s, on the other hand, wisely populated its followers’ Facebook feeds with highlights from the promotion, with a total of 20 pictures.
In fact, a professional photographer, Frank Reynolds, was on hand to capture the magical moments, and Cucinella’s provided a QR code that allowed guests to pore over the photos and purchase their favorites.
In a Facebook post, Cucinella’s co-owner Karon Mazzella thanked the event’s volunteers for “each doing their part to make this year’s Cookies With Santa the best year we have ever had.”
Paul Cucinella, a Rochester, New York transplant, founded the family- and veteran-owned Cucinella’s, which also has a location in Perry, Florida, about 15 years ago. As he explained to Greene Publishing in 2018, “You have to find your passion, work hard and be honest. It all starts with a solid business plan. I look at franchises and study.”
