Echo Park's Pizza Buona to Reopen Friday

Pizza Buona is back, and it hasn't been easy.

In late February, a car crashed through the front door of the iconic pizza restaurant at Alvarado Street and Sunset Boulevard in February, injuring a pregnant woman.

Owners Norman Schweitzer and Israel Palacios recovered quickly, doing the repairs necessary to reopen with takeout service.

They also put up two concrete posts just outside the restaurant to prevent another unwelcome automotive visitor.

But Schweitzer and Palalcios never revived sitdown service, stranding families in particular, who loved the casual environment for kids.

Then Schweitzer and Palacios closed the restaurant completely in August.

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That's when they started the project of installing a new bathtroom to ensure the restaurant complied with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The end result includes an automatically controlled door and a short hallway entrance, which finally passed inspection.

So patrons are welcome back to enjoy the pizza pie that has brought families, hipsters and homeboys together for decades.

We stopped by late Thursday and saw them mixing up a test batch of dough in the back kitchen.

In the dining area are new tables and chairs, replacing the ones damaged in the crash. The wood paneling and floor have also been replaced.

But there's the same old jukebox, featuring a formidable collection of remastered 45s by 1950s-style crooners culled from Schweitzer's personal collection.

As he pointed out, "Where you gonna hear that?"

Service begins at 11 a.m.