Bill's Pizza Pub, Greensboro

Bill's Pizza Pub has a long history in the Spencer family, with the first location opening in the 1960s, when jukebox tunes and the flashing lights of a pinball machine mingled with restaurant chatter. Today, Donna Spencer, her husband, John, and their children manage two Bill's Pizza Pub locations. Though nearly 45 years have passed, the family continues to preserve those elements that first typified their eatery: handmade dough, pizza cut into squares, and a thriving social scene.

The menu compiles 14 specialty pizzas, from classics such as the margherita and the meat-peppered Bill's Feast to more inventive disks. The baked-potato pizza replaces tomato sauce with sour cream and sprinkles potato wedges, bacon, and onions over a bed of cheddar and mozzarella cheese. Wings, burgers, and submarine sandwiches provide ample alternatives to pies, and spaghetti dinners mix noodles with chicken parmesan and meatballs.

Its edible offerings might shift as new pizza experiments enter the fold, but Bill's remains married to its nostalgic ambiance. The restaurant's website collects stories from loyal patrons who describe their favorite memories, recounting first dates and that romantic moment when you realize that you both have pepperoni breath.