The Beginnings
Itโs 1969. A New Jersey boy, John โJinglesโ Yingling, going into his final year of college, opens a pizza truck in Wildwood. Jingles has made pizzas in Jersey since he was tall enough, at Mackโs, but the truck teaches him his first big lesson in business: you gotta start your own. The pizza truck is a hit, and rakes in enough cash for Jingles to take the next summer off. He goes to Provincetown to visit his sister.
BOOM.
Opening Spiritus
Itโs 1971. On this historic visit, Jingles is quick to realize that there is. no. pizza. โAH-HA,โ he says, and the idea of Spiritus is born. A friend of a friend gets connected with Jingles, he tells him he knows about pizza, that his grandfather taught him the business.
Enter: Paul Schnieder.
Itโs the spring of 1971. The pair travels to New Jersey to pick up an oven. They find a hole-in-the-wall at 193 Commercial Street. Slices on napkins for 35 cents a pop go flying. The people of Provincetown
Dig.
This.
Pizza.
Move to 190 Commercial
Several years go by. Jingles sister is slinging slices at the front of the house. Their youngest brother comes to town to learn the biz. From the very beginning, Spiritus embraces the family run pizzeria atmosphere.
Itโs 1976, and Jinglesโ friend Gus Gutterman opens a tiny ice cream business within the, now extended, walls of 193. Arnie Charnick joins the gang, coining the phrase โthereโs no business like dough business,โ and they carry on as usual for a couple more seasons.
Itโs 1978, and rent at 193 has more than tripled. Jingles figures itโs time to buy his own joint. Across the street, an optometrist office goes up for sale. For this guy, itโs a no-brainer, and the paperwork is signed come springtime.
Jingles phones a friend, Richard Iammarino, to paint the walls at 190. He gives Richard creative control, and the guy goes wild. Suddenly, Spiritus transforms into pizza heaven.
A Late-Night Legend
Still open โtil 2am, an hour after the bars close, the business picks up momentum in the wacky 80s. Jingles gets married, and skips town a few miles. He, his wife Titi, and their oldest son, Gui, move to Truro.
Spiritus becomes the late-night hangout, a reputation that Jingles and the gang warmly embrace. By now, slices are a buck, and the menu has expanded. Local art covers the walls. Late night crowds flood Commercial Street.
The late 80s and early 90s bring Jingles and Titi three more kids โ all girls (future pizza girls, to be exact.) The gals grow up slinging slices. Their youngest brother, Thor, is born into the family in 2003. Friends, cousins, siblings, aunts and uncles staff the place for decadesโฆ
โฆYes, decades. Over five so far!
A family Tradition
Now, the little shop is still owned and operated by the Yingling family and friends.
Local art still covers the walls.
The crowds still fill the streets.
The toppings, still fresh.
The pizza, still delicious.
And the unique spirit of Provincetown, still proudly celebrated.
