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s. john wilkin/the times leader

Stan Zaneski is the owner and operator of Bernardo’s Pizza & Ice Cream in Edwardsville. He has owned the business since 1999. Zaneski, 44, is a graduate of Bishop O’Reilly High School and Wilkes University where he received a degree in biology. He and his wife, Linda have two children, Becky, 15, and Stanley, 12.

You grew up in the same neighborhood as Bernardo’s. What made you want to buy it? “A group of my friends played softball, and we were looking for a sponsor. I came in and talked to the previous owners and asked them to sponsor us. I said, ‘We’re all local guys and we all come here to eat on a regular basis.’ They looked at me and said, ‘Buy it, and sponsor it yourself.’ That’s exactly how it happened. I thought they were joking around, and I called back a few hours later, and they were dead serious.”

Was it something you’d thought about before? Did you always want to own a pizzeria? “No. Never even thought of being in the restaurant business. But the opportunity came about, it was the right timing, and I jumped at it. You get to run the place you grew up on. It was kind of the ‘Mecca.’ So how do you pass on that?”

After 12 years, you must like it? “It’s good. I like dealing with the people. Obviously there are times where your kids are doing stuff and you’d like to be there, but you have an obligation to be here. That’s probably the downside to it. You don’t have as much free time as you hoped to, but hey, you’re running a business. You’ve got an obligation.”

What’s your favorite item on your own menu? “Cheesesteak stromboli.”

What do you enjoy outside of work? “Coaching kids. Softball. Football. I work with the Ed/Lark Youth Programs.”

Sports are big with you. What teams do you follow? “Miami Dolphins, Los Angles Dodgers and Philadelphia Flyers. My favorite sports are hockey, then NASCAR, then football. The last couple of years, I’ve really gotten into hockey. I don’t miss a Flyers game.”

Music? “It’s pretty broad … KISS, Judas Priest, John Mellencamp, Tom Petty, Bob Marley, Nickelback. I also like country, and I’ll throw classical on once in a while.”

Favorite vacation spot? “Ocean City, Md.”

Favorite food, outside of your menu? “Lobster.”

Always in the fridge? “4C Iced Tea.”

Favorite book? “Anything by Stephen Ambrose.”

First car? “A 1972 brown Caprice Classic. It was a boat.”

Favorite movies? “It’s got to be ‘Star Wars’ or ‘Rocky.’ But I love ‘Hoosiers,’ ‘Remember The Titans’ and ‘The Blindside.’ I love the real life sports stories.”

Favorite TV show? “The Sons of Anarchy.”

Guilty pleasure? “Middleswarth Bar-B-Q chips. I’ll eat a ‘Weekender’ in one sitting.”

Defining moment? “My father died of a heart attack at the St. Hedwig’s bazaar. It was 1988, and a time when he and I weren’t seeing eye-to-eye, and our last words were an argument. And the next thing I knew, he was gone. I tell Linda and the kids, ‘Don’t go to bed angry with someone, because you don’t know if you’re ever going to get to talk to them again.’ You never know what’s going to happen.”

Most influential person? “I don’t know if there really was one. I didn’t really model myself after anyone, like an ex-President or a sports figure. But probably my parents. I’m trying to raise my kids the way my parents raised me. I’m trying to teach them what’s right and wrong, and what’s morally the right thing to do. And that’s reflective of my mother and father.’