Mr. Castraberti, who somewhat reluctantly came to like the Leaning Tower of Pisa replica that adorned his business, died of heart failure Tuesday in Union Hospital in Lynn.
He was 86 and divided his time between homes in Sarasota, Fla., and Lynnfield.
“There are times when I thought it was tacky and wished it wasn’t there, but now that I’m older and more mellow, it is more a source of pleasure than it was,’’ he said told the Globe in 1990, adding that at one point he considered removing the tower many customers and passersby consider a landmark on Route 1.
Over the years, he became a landmark himself, greeting diners by name and making sure he knew something about each family that walked through the door.
“He never considered himself to be the ultimate restaurateur, but in his own way, he truly was with his smile and his passion for people,’’ said his son, Steven of Wenham, who now runs Prince Pizzeria with his wife, Trisha.
“If you were walking into that restaurant, you were walking into his home,’’ she said. “If there were 700 people in the restaurant, he knew everybody by name. People would get out of their seats and hug him.’’
In 1999, Mr. Castraberti’s other son, Paul, who now lives in Vero Beach, Fla., told the Globe that a particular philosophy guided his father’s approach to the business: “My father used to tell us, ‘Treat the customers like family. They’re putting you through college.’ ’’
Learning each customer’s name was a tradition Mr. Castraberti started when he first ran the restaurant in 1961, said his son-in-law, Michael Harrington of Beverly.
“He’d ask the person’s name, and when the pizza came out, he’d say, ‘Hey John, here’s your pizza,’ ’’ said Harrington, who worked for his father-in-law for about a quarter century. “As the restaurant grew, he loved that personal touch, and that’s why they still do it today.’’
