By Ben Orcutt -- Daily Staff Writer

FRONT ROYAL - There may not be a pizza parlor on every corner, but with three new ones in the last 10 months, it's starting to seem like it.

That's good news for Front Royal pizza aficionados, who want to try something different. Brothers Pizza, at 450-C Commerce Ave., is the latest pizza shop to open in town.

Manager Bobby Westfall says what sets Brothers apart from the other pizza restaurants is "service and quality," along with a secret dough recipe.

"We make our own dough, our own recipe," Westfall says. "It's all hand-tossed, rolled out here fresh."

Brothers has locations in Winchester and Stephens City. Westfall says his brother, Eric Westfall, own the other two stores and is co-owner of the Front Royal operation.

The Front Royal location opened on Dec. 7, and Bobby Westfall says the response has been "fantastic." Two of the most popular items, he says, have been the gourmet pizzas and Brothers wings, which feature homemade sauces.

"We have about 30 gourmet pizzas," Bobby Westfall adds.

One of those is the Greek pizza, which is 16 inches and sells for $17.99. It's topped with spinach, tomatoes, fresh mushrooms, garlic and olive oil sauce, feta and mozzarella cheese.

Elizabeth Vickers, 20, of Front Royal, says she is glad that Brothers has a Front Royal location.

"I think their food's so much better," she says. "I would drive from here to Stephens City just to eat Brothers."

Vickers says her favorite item on the menu is the steak and cheese sub "with everything on it."

"They just taste better," Vickers says. "It just tastes more like a steak and cheese sub instead of just like pieces of steak."

While there may appear to be a pizza plethora in Front Royal, Vickers says she thinks they all can be successful.

"I think so," she says. "There's enough people in Front Royal for it, because I eat both here and Fox's."

Fox's Pizza, at 1202 N. Royal Ave., opened on Sept. 17, says employee Bonnie Dodson. The store, which is part of a national chain, is owned by Larry and Barbara Grim.

Dodson says there used to be a Fox's Pizza in Front Royal, and the response to the new location has been "wonderful." If there's something that sets them apart from some of the other pizza shops, it's the wedgies, Dodson says.

Fox's driver Brett Dunmyer, of Front Royal, agrees. For the uninitiated, Dunmyer says a wedgie is "a pizza crust rolled over with the toppings inside instead of on regular bread."

Wedgies sell for $6.79 and come in a number of varieties, such as the BLT, with bacon, provolone and mozzarella cheese, topped with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise.

Earl Roy, 19, of Front Royal, recently visited the Front Royal Fox's for the first time.

"My cousin owned one in West Virginia and their food's always been good," Roy says. "I've been to the one in Strasburg and all the other places I've see 'em and the food's been good everywhere I've been."

Roy's favorite item is the stromboli, which akin to a pizza turnover with toppings inside.

Roy has no doubt that all three new pizza parlors will find their niche.

"Just because each one of them has a different quality," he says. "Even if it's one little different thing, the customer's going to get used to that and want to go back there. People like Fox's just for different things, and they'll keep coming back as long as it's there."

Anne Marie Fantegrossi, manager of Celio's Pizza & Italian Grill at 239 South St., says the restaurant opened about the middle of February. She says owners Reza and Patrick Soleymani of Sterling are confident Celio's, which means "heavenly" in Italian, will make a go of it.

"Cause they really like this little town," Fantegrossi and the owners shopped around for locations and liked Front Royal, Fantegrossi says.

"We make everything fresh. Our dough is made every day here and our meat is fresh every day," she says.

Fantegrossi says one of the most popular items has been the steak and cheese sub "because it's fresh rib eye." Another selling point for Celio's, she says, is their "mountain delivery."

"We go all the way out to Bentonville," Fantegrossi adds.

Unlike the other new pizza parlors, Celio's patrons can also dine in. Rebeccah Hilton, of Front Royal, says she liked her first visit to Celio's so well that she brought along her husband, David, and their son, Alex, back for a recent meal.

On her first visit to Celio's, Hilton says she ordered a small calzone for her mother, Irene Flagg, of Florida, who had just been released from the hospital.

"The only thing I could tempt her with was a calzone," Hilton says. "It was huge. It was so fresh, and this little 100-pound woman sat and ate the whole thing. She said it was fabulous."

In addition to calzone, pizza, pasta and subs, Celio's offers a variety of salads. A large Greek salad sells for $6.50 and a large chicken salad goes for $6.25. The restaurant also features coupons and specials, one of which is two large, two-topping pizzas for $19.99 through Feb. 5.

"I like this because you can come in and sit down," Hilton adds. "I'm not a huge pizza fan. I want more and they offer all this other stuff. That's what I want. My husband's a pizza fanatic. He loves it. I want to come in and get some baked ziti or spaghetti."

Alex Hilton says the presentation of the food was good, and his dad seemed to enjoy his food.

"I love pizza and hot sandwiches, subs," David Hilton says. "Gonna give it a try."

Brothers Pizza, 636-6060, is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Fox's Pizza, 635-2800, is open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and noon to 9 p.m. on Sunday. Celio's, 631-9100, is open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. All have pickup and delivery.

* Contact Ben Orcutt at borcutt@nvdaily.com