A story by Biddeford Cultural & Heritage Center Voices of Biddeford project from 1943-2022
Voices of Biddeford interview with Bob Cote on May 16, 2022
The son of Franco-American parents, Bob was born and has lived in Biddeford his entire life. Bob started working at the iconic Alex Pizza as a teenager. While everyone else was attending the popular football games, Bob was working at the Pizza House getting ready to feed the crowds who would come after the game. He was part of the business as it initially grew. After Alex Pizza was fully established, Alex preferred to “live” vs having more ambitious plans to expand. Bob’s dedication provided the “hands on” hard work and expertise that provided the backbone to assure continuity for over 50 years. Bob shares his perspective of why Alex Pizza has been THE pizza place in the greater Biddeford area.
Highlights from the interview include: Raised on a small family working farm on the Pool Road, his experiences were different than many of his contemporaries who were raised closer to the center of Biddeford; His father, a disabled vet, was a trusted milkman. Many of the businesses he delivered to gave him the store keys to make his early morning deliveries. He would also sell produce from their small family farm to his retail customers; How his mother supported the family of 7 kids after the sudden death of her husband at the age of 46; Experiences in parochial school at both St. Andre’s Grammar School and St. Louis High School; Memories of downtown Biddeford from the late 1940s through the 1960s; Getting “baggies” from Reilly’s Bakery; The story of how he met his wife of 57 years; How Alex Mantis developed and perfected his famous pizza sauce and initial strategies to grow the business; Helping transition the business to Alex’s nephew, Andy Mantis, upon his retirement; stories from the iconic Alex Pizza through the years.
Recorded on May 16, 2022
View a transcript of this interview and more pictures/additional information at https://biddefordculturalandheritagecenter.org/bob-cote-5-16-2022/
For more stories from the Voices for Biddeford project, visit https://biddefordculturalandheritagecenter.org/voices-of-biddeford/
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