Sicily Coal Fired Pizza is more than the gourmet restaurant’s name suggests. One of the first things co-owner Tony Prifitera, who runs the place with his wife Maria, wants people to know is the thin and crispy New Haven-style pizza is just one offering at the 412 Main St. location. It is housed in the former three-story R.W. Camp’s department store, one of the largest buildings in Middletown.

It has a capacity of 300 in the 10,000-square-foot space. “It’s far beyond a pizza place. I just want a variety of things. I want it to be an upbeat restaurant. I don’t want you to come in, and it’s boring … [I want a] lot of action,” Tony Prifitera said Wednesday, the third day the restaurant was open.