The Regulars: Mary Devou

Pizza Villa

By Sara Hogan and Jessie Banhazl

Age: 42

Regular since: 2006

Hometown: South Portland/Portland, Maine

Favorite drink: IPAs

At the base of Congress Street in Portland, near Maine Med, you will find the Pizza Villa, a well-worn, comfortable bar and pizza joint that opened in 1965. Inside you’ll find neon lights, carpeting, and large TV screens. Outside, you’ll find a small wooden patio populated with Pizza Villa’s hardcore regulars who affectionately refer to themselves as “Villains.”

The regulars run deep at the Villa. “We’re a family of misfits, it’s not just a bar,” laughed Jeannie, a Villian.

“I’ve never worked anywhere like this before,” said Cat, a Villa bartender. if “I don’t see someone daily, I worry!”

Recently, we sat down for some IPAs with Mary Devou, a Villa regular and informal social activity organizer for the Villains. Mary is beloved, and she also has an interesting past.

“Mary is a reason people come to stay here,” stated Kip, a regular for 38 years. “She’s so friendly, and she gets people together outside the bar.” Let’s meet Mary!

How did you end up as a regular at Pizza Villa?

I had taken a bus to go cash a check down at the check cashing place by Amato’s and then I saw ”Pizza and Beer.” I was like, “I like pizza and I like beer!” I went in, and I started talking to some people. Weekly, when I cashed my check, I would stop in. I met awesome people, and everybody was nice. I felt welcomed.

How does it feel to be a “regular”? What does that mean to you?

If you’re there regularly, you’re part of the family. It was funny because my own family were like, “You hang out at the Pizza Villa?” They were quite judgy about it. When I graduated from college, where did I want to celebrate? The Pizza Villa! This is community. These people know about my college, my artwork…I hadn’t joined SLAP (Superhero Lady Armwrestlers of Maine) at the time. They were a part of that process.

How did you get into arm wrestling?

Through my alumna matter, SMCC. They were talking about fundraising, and I was like, I can help sell t-shirts? But they were like, “No, you’re gonna arm wrestle!” They had to talk me into it, but once I did it, it was okay. I don’t think I won anything the first time. I was so nervous about being on stage. But then hearing everybody cheering! All the Villains were there cheering me on. I’ll never forget hearing all these people chant my name. I had never seen SLAP before so I was also in shock. Oh my God, I gotta go pretend like I can arm wrestle!

Were you a “character” when you were an arm wrestler?

They wanted me to wear spandex, and I was so not comfortable with my body then so I was like, hell no. There is another Mary at the Villa, so people used to call her Mother Mary and me Sister Mary. That’s how my friends and I came up with Slammin’ Sister Mary, a nun. I modified my graduation gown with a white turtleneck and then we had removable sleeves so the “Naughty School Girls,” my entourage, could rip them off. When I first agreed to do this, I went to the Villa and was like, we gotta work on this character, we need a theme song. When you first come up, it’s hard, because a lot of people have really great characters. Like Black Mamba. She is mean and she’s scary but in real life she’s a sweetheart. She’s got a PhD. She loves bunnies. When she’s out there in character, I get scared.

Did you win any competitions?

I started in 2014, and then I won the Super Claw in 2016. That was when I kind of retired from SLAP because at that point I’d gotten introduced to competitive arm wrestling. I fell in love with the competition. I felt strong in my body.

You had a spinal injury. Is that why you stopped competitive arm wrestling?

I had two discs that were crushing my spinal cord. I had a double fusion and was pretty close to being paralyzed from the neck down and I had to relearn to walk. I went from being super independent to things aren’t working so good to, oh fuck, now I can’t even walk. I felt really humbled by not being able to do anything. That isn’t why I stopped, though. I just felt like I had reached the top — I won all the competitions, why not make room for the next person? Nowadays, I like playing with printmaking. I like to make Valentine’s or Christmas cards and then I go and hand them out to the Villa.

Do people challenge you to arm wrestle at the bar?

All the damn time! I’ve learned that I do not need to prove my strength. I know I’m strong.

This article was also published in the September 2023 issue of The Bollard