“Bill” was only at the helm for about a year, but his name lives on at Bill’s Pizzeria.

When John Chronopoulos bought Bill’s in 1976, he decided to just keep the name. Though Bill himself has not been seen at the restaurant in over a decade, there is a small reminder of his presence -- a Mr. Bill doll on the cookie jar at the front counter.

Current owner and chef Dean Chronopoulos also decided to keep the name Bill’s when he bought the restaurant from his father in 1991. The original Bill’s was only 600 square feet in what is the current takeout and counter area.

“It was a typical ‘mom-and-pop' pizza shop,” reminisces Chronopoulos.

Five years ago Bill’s expanded into their current space, allowing them to grow from seating 18 to 33, with an additional few seats added to the sidewalk outside for warm weather dining. Last month, the restaurant went to the city's aldermen for another 24 seats.

But more seating and space isn’t the only growth that Bill’s has seen in its 35 years. Now guests are entertained with live music from local musicians and the walls are decorated with art created by local painters and collage artists, including  San Francisco transplant Joseph Wrye who always stops by when he's home for the holidays.

Another prominent decoration on the brick wall on the far side of the dining room is an old-fashioned pizza paddle with a hand-hewn handle. This was a gift from Chronopoulos’ grandfather.

“The paddle itself is one piece, but the handle had to be separate because he brought it over from Greece,” says Chronopoulos. “The reason it couldn’t just be in one piece is because it couldn’t fit in his bags when he came over to this country.”

The paddle serves another important purpose, beyond reminding Chronopoulos and Bill’s patrons of the history of the restaurant. On the paddle are the names of the winners of Bill’s 5K Annual Road Race.

The race, which has been going on for five years, raises money for the Travis Roy Foundation and was the brainchild of Bill’s patron and local runner Kelly Fattman. After Chronopoulos’ brother was in a car accident and found himself confined to a wheelchair, friends and longtime patrons wanted to help -- Fattman came up with the idea for the race as a way of giving back to Spaulding Memorial Rehabilitation Hospital, which had done so much for the Chronopoulos family.

To date, they have raised $80,000 and the race boasts a roster of 1,000 runners.

Chronopoulos is excited about the future of the race and other opportunities to give back to the community, including a current project to help Brown Middle School replace the now-defunct oven used in their home ec classes.

He’s even more excited, though, about the changes that are coming to Bill’s menu.

“We’ve had this same menu for about 20 years,” he laughs. “I know it seems very cutting-edge, but we’re going to add some new pizzas and about 20 new sandwiches.”

Another recent change to the menu is the addition of gluten-free pizza crusts, which are made off-premise to insure adherence to dietary restrictions. The new whole-wheat crusts, though, are made fresh in-house.

“We’ve got an 80/20 blend of wheat and white flour,” states Chronopoulos with pride. “It’s got that lightness, from the white, but it’s still got that texture, that feel from the wheat.”

Even when he’s not at work, pizza is still Chronopoulos’ go-to meal.

“I’m a pizza freak, a pizza junkie,” he says. “I couldn’t even pick just one to eat -- I like them all!”