After a 16-year apprenticeship, Phil Sloan is ready for the title of Mr. Pizza Slice.  (Photo by Jim Willis. Click to enlarge)

By JIM WILLIS

It’s been a month since Steve Napolitani retired as Red Bank’s ‘Mr. Pizza Slice.’ So, after a period of respectful mourning, redbankgreen‘s Piehole stopped in at the Monmouth Street institution to see how the new guy, Phil Sloan, was doing filling the shoes that Napolitani wore for 44 years.

“So far, so good,” says Sloan. “Some people may have thought that when Steve [Napolitani] retired, we all retired. But we’re still here.”

Sloan’s no novice when it comes to serving up the signature dogs, pies and fries.

“I have been working with Steve  for 16 years,” he said. “If I haven’t figured it out by now, I’d be in real trouble.”

As a kid, Sloan was taking drum lessons down the street at Monmouth Music. “I couldn’t find a job, and the guy who was teaching me drums lived upstairs of [Mr. Pizza Slice], and he got me the job here. I’ve been here ever since,” said Sloan.

Sloan – who now works for the new owners, a family named Provenzano from Long Branch and Ocean – said the menu will stay the same, but the restaurant may stay open later on the weekends. It now closes at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and 6 p.m. Saturdays and is closed Sundays; new Friday and Saturday hours could be as late as 10 p.m.

“We’re batting around the idea of staying open for dinner on Friday and Saturdays,” said Sloan, “It’s going to happen, but it depends on the new owners when we’ll start with the new hours.”