Benny’s Pizza Palace Serves Authenticity in San Luis Obispo
Story by Christian Comacho
Photography by Ruby Wallau
Before opening a pizza restaurant, the owner of Benny’s Pizza Palace in San Luis Obispo was focused on other aspirations. But as writer Christian Camacho explains, Ben Arona is making a difference with each slice.
A sentiment commonly shared with children and young people is that we can be anything when we grow up. To become a firefighter, an astronaut or a professional athlete is as easy as speaking it into the universe. Standing at the precipice of adulthood, so rarely do any of us have a clue what our future might actually look like. And rarer, still, is when life does turn out the way we planned it.
For Ben Arrona, of Benny’s Pizza Palace and Social Club, owning a pizza spot was not necessarily a childhood aspiration. He grew up a boisterous kid in San Luis Obispo, unafraid to be authentically himself. His father was active in the community, chairing local committees and helping out around the Mission, teaching Ben that a life in service to others was one of the highest callings a person could aspire to.
Ben worked for nine years with law enforcement in the probation department, hoping to make a difference in the lives of local youths in and out of juvenile hall. Despite dealing with bureaucracy and burnout, working in probation did not deter him from wanting to learn more about how to be a better steward of society.
“I’ve always been an activist at heart.,” he says. “I wanted to change the world, and I thought that I could do that for law enforcement through helping kids. Now I’m learning how to be an activist.”
Since leaving law enforcement, Ben has earned two master’s degrees: one in history from Cal Poly; the other in Islamic Studies at Columbia University in New York. History, to Ben, is the study of the past successes and failures of others — a treasure trove of lessons that can inform how best to lead our own lives.
While taking note of the opportunities to learn and do more in academia, Ben couldn’t help but notice areas in which his local bars and restaurants could improve as well. Having worked every position in a restaurant since the age of 15, he has seen the good and the bad that comes with employment in the hospitality industry. In working for and learning from others, he found the confidence and self-assuredness to strike out on his own.
“I think there’s a point where I decided that to really be myself and be authentic, and to actually see the fruits of my labor, I needed to break off and do my own thing and dial up the intensity,” Ben says. “I changed my attitude from, ‘I think I can’ to ‘I know I can.’ And I wanted to be more in control of my future. It was the creative side of me really wanting to get out.”
In pizza, Ben found an outlet for his creativity and passion for serving the community. “My dad used to do all the barbecues for [events at the Mission], so cooking for other people, I think, was instilled in those days,” he says. “I love cooking for people.”
What started out as making Detroit-style pizza from a friend’s recipe and selling it out of his home led him to convert a former Papa John’s storefront into a bona fide commercial kitchen. Benny’s Pizza was a major hit during the pandemic, serving to-go orders on a first-come, first-serve basis until supplies ran out. In 2021, Ben found a new home for his popular pizza.
After nearly half a century serving Mexican food in San Luis Obispo, Pepe Delgado’s on Monterey Street closed its doors during the pandemic. As Ben planned to open his new restaurant here, his education taught him the importance of preserving the histories of those who came before. From the original carved-wood booths and chandelier to a display featuring an old Pepe’s menu, the main dining room of Benny’s is an homage to the former SLO favorite. He’s even managed to preserve the original murals, including the one depicting Yvonne Poulsen, the previous owner.
The space has Ben’s touches as well. The barroom features depictions of his French bulldogs added to other paintings; an Oxford jersey, as Ben is also intermittently working on his PhD dissertation on global and imperial history at Oxford University; and a family portrait, featuring him with his parents and brother, which hangs by the back patio door.
Today, Ben continues to support his community. Working with kids in juvenile hall was not in vain, as he is the chairman of the Juvenile Justice Commission, a point of pride given that his father held the very same position. He also is a CASA Board Member, advocating for kids in the foster care system. And in between his research at Oxford, he continues to teach history as an adjunct professor at Cuesta College. “I love it, giving back to the community,” he says. “And honestly, this restaurant is just another place to do that.”
