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Doc’s Pizza Oak St. Lawrence MA
by Keith of Retro Planet
Doc’s Pizza Oak St. Lawrence MA
Does anybody remember Doc’s Pizza on Oak Street in Lawrence MA ? It was in the old Italian Neighborhood between Lawrence and Jackson Streets. Man that place was good ! When my friends and I were teenagers and got our drivers licenses we would head down to Lawrence from Salem, NH every chance we had. Of course they had pizza and it was great, but they also made Italian spinach pie, meat pies and lamb pies. The spinach pies where made on a large tray and cut into squares. They where fantastic.
The lamb pies where also incredible, little triangles stuffed with lamb, pine nuts, spices and who knows what else. So good ! You had to be careful with the lambs however because sometimes you would take a bite and a big drop of oil would come squirting out. I ruined a couple of shirts at Doc’s but it was worth it.
Not exactly sure when Doc’s went out of business but it was sometime in the mid 70’s. I think the family running it just decided to close instead of moving when the neighborhood started going down hill. My friends and I were totally bummed. One guy I know bought a tray of spinach pie to freeze only to lose them when his freezer broke.
I took these photos on some of our last trips to Lawrence for spinach pies. As a young kid I lived right down the street on Erving Avenue in a tenement my Grandfather owned, but the neighborhood was much nicer way back then. Eventually the whole neighborhood was leveled as part of urban renewal. But I will always remember Doc’s Pizza, Pettoruto’s Market, Frasca Variety, The Union of Italy Grand Club and of course my old tenement on Erving Avenue where I grew up.
Doc’s Pizza, Frasca Variety on Oak Street in Lawrence MA
Doc’s Pizza Storefront Lawrence, MA
My friend Al leaving Docs with a plate full
My old tenement on Erving Avenue in Lawrence MA
Pettoruto’s Market on Oak Street Lawrence MA
Toilers Club on Oak St Lawrence MA
Union of Italy Grand Club on Short Street in Lawrence, MA
Posted
Saturday, January 12th, 2008 at 8:34 am EST by Keith
Read more in New England Memories
February 4th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
these photos are priceless. i grew up as a teen in lawrence thru the 70s and these pics bring back so many memories..thank you for sharing, randy
February 7th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
I remember docs pizza well. i used to go there a lot for my mom to get pizza…
i lived on 58 oak st when i was 11 yrs old.. i am familiar with a lot of the area
i used to work at the protectory of mary immaculate at 14 yrs old….
i miss all the great places from way back when… lawrence will never be the same….to this day i tell people that docs was the best pizza place in town…
when i was 17 the guy i went steady with… rick filz… his aunt owned Frascas… i went to oliver school and during recess we used to sneak out of school to go Frascas to by candy.. yes i got in trouble by teachers but the squirrel nut candy was worth it heheh. anyway im glad to have found this site… brings back many memories when life was great.
March 21st, 2008 at 7:26 am
Oh Man I used to love Doc’s
I recently found out that a guy who used to work at Doc’s has a place in Methuen named Kim’s Pizza at 438 Prospect Street. He still makes the spinach and lamb pies like Doc’s used to make. I have to tell you that they are pretty darn good. Not quite up to Doc’s standards when they were turning out tray after tray on a busy Friday night but worth trying.
March 27th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
I used to accompany Keith, Al and a bunch of our other friends to Docs Pizza in the 70’s. It was one of the social highlights of a weekend when we all jumped into a car or two to head down to Lawrence for the delectable array of homemade food at Docs. A couple of times I was mad at the gang for going without me even though I probably had other plans that night anyway.
The smell and the warmth of the ovens were incredible the minute you walked through the door. I absolutely loved the spinach pie. I would always have them add a slice of provolone cheese to the top. Mmmm. Like Keith, I ruined many shirts after hurriedly biting into the spinach pie and having the oil gush out the end. It was well worth it.
I also ordered a tray of spinach pie when I learned they were closing. I think I even ordered two. I carefully wrapped each sqaure in aluminum foil and froze them. I would take one out for lunch every other day or so. I worked at Digital in Salem NH at the time with an Italian guy named Lanny. He was from the Lawrence area and loved Docs. When he realized what I was eating for lunch one day I noticed he was drooling. The next time I packed my lunch I brought in a piece for Lanny. You would have thought I brought him the Hope Diamond. Lanny had a huge appetite for good food. His wife made him a great lunch everyday. Well, the day I brought in a slice of spinach pie for him he had already eaten the lunch his wife had packed him, but that didn’t stop him from wolfing down the slice of spinach pie. I think I saw some oil drip out of the end of the pie onto his shirt…
May 29th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Wow what a find this web site is ! I grew up in north lawrence and methuen –early on (grades 1-4) I went to st.marys and at lunch would sneak “off campus” at lunchtime and scoot right down the street for pizza at Doc’s or better yet slush at Carruba’s Mkt. Almonade or lemonade only - no mixing sheesh what a grouchy old lady minding the store was - pay and get out was her motto - slush was great tho.. now I live in Oregon and hit as many of the old spots(while they are still there) whenever I get back east - Lawton’s , Tripoli — I used to love Perrault’s diner on B’way “One Egg -10cents - 2 eggs 2o cents , 3 eggs…….. I ate lots of eggs there when times were tough … again great to see this site - thanks
May 31st, 2008 at 8:11 am
Hi Jim, Tripoli is still going strong. In fact I had their pizza last night. Thanks for contributing and the kind words about our site.
Keith
June 4th, 2008 at 10:46 am
Couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw these pics. FABULOUS…I grew up on Jackson St (neard corner of Avon) so I know just what your talking about….Rememer PP’s store, Jackson pizza (.10 cents a slice) The Bowling alley, Eddies Variety, Lippold the Barber, the Ol’ shoeshine man on Jackson St…..The corner drugstore……Salvo’s, (Cochise Variety…Doc’s was awesome…BEST pizza ever… believe that your right when you said as the neighborhood started to deteriorate, things changes….I had the good fortune for working with his Son, Orlando, (Willie), deceased at a young age. 25-30..He was quite a great guy…..Thanks for the trip down memory lane….Oh let’s not forget Holy Rosary School,( graduate of 1964), May Processions, Playstead where we used to skate in the winter…Kennedys Swimming pool………..and on and on.