Today we’d like to introduce you to Gabriel Baldinucci.
Hi Gabriel, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My two brothers and I grew up in a pizza restaurant in New York. Our father was born in Italy and he and our mother started teaching us the business at a young age in 1977. My brothers and I opened five pizza restaurants after high school and I eventually left the business to go to Duke and business school at Stanford, followed by a career starting companies with Richard Branson and in Silicon Valley. Out of the three of us, Sal stayed in the business his whole career and became an incredible pizza chef. After moving to Austin last year, I realized there was a big opportunity to bring his traditional New York pizza here. However, we also felt like the country was ready for something new and exciting, which is authentic Roman-style pizza. We decided to offer both styles and we imported one set of ovens from New York and one set from Italy, as they are made with different equipment. We found a great location in West Lake Hills and while that store is under construction, we opened a pickup and delivery location at Ghostline Kitchens near 290 and Montopolis. Our West Lake Hills store is planned to open in August and we are planning a food truck as well.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There have been many challenges along the way. First, getting Sal and Patricia down here from New York took a while and buying a home was very competitive. It turns out that finding a retail store location right now is also very competitive. Our broker told us that everyone who owns a restaurant in New York or LA is trying to open a location here in Austin. It took a while but we found a great location in West Lake Hills and also found a spot in a new commercial kitchen so we could operate while we waited for construction. Well, it turns out that construction has taken longer than expected due to supply chain issues for certain equipment. Additionally, we couldn’t find all the pizza equipment that we needed as Austin is more of a BBQ and Taco town so we had to source some of it from New York. The same goes for certain food supplies and even Roman-style pizza boxes, it took some time for us to find the right sources. Finally, there are fewer trained pizza chefs here so we recruited one of Sal’s longtime colleagues from New York named Joe. We feel like all of this will be worth it though!
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As a kid in New York City, our father actually ate in the first pizza restaurant to ever sell pizza by the slice in the U.S. There is a real tradition of pizza in New York that we grew up in and we honor and value that and want to bring it here to Austin. Our New York pizza uses those traditional recipes and ingredients and is cooked in traditional Baker’s Pride ovens that we had imported from Brooklyn. We wanted to make sure that we could take a bite and feel like we are back home where we grew up.
At the same time, there is a whole category of pizza invented in Italy that most Americans don’t know about and have never tried, which is Roman-style pizza. In Rome, it is called ‘pizza al taglio’, which translates to pizza by the cut. This style of pizza was created by bakeries in Rome who made a very different kind of dough from Naples pizza and baked it in large square trays. Roman pizza is made with high hydration dough which is left to rise for 72 hours, creating a light and flulffy yet chewy dough akin to Ciabatta bread. We import finely milled Caputo flour from Italy and bake the dough in blue steel pans and traditional Moretti ovens, both of which are imported from Italy as well. Because it is hearty enough to hold toppings, but easier to digest and doesn’t leave you with a heavy feeling after eating it, we think Roman-style pizza is going to be the next big trend in the U.S.
We also have a gluten-free crust and a cauliflower crust, and we can swap vegan cheese on any of our pizzas. Our panini and involtini are made with our in-house dough and we offer several gourmet salads. Our West Lake Hills store, which is opening in August, will also serve gelato. For all of these items, we are really thoughtful about the ingredients that we select as we want to make food that creates a special moment for people when they taste it. We use some imported ingredients, and we source what we can locally, but we also use some national providers when we feel that they are the best in class. Finally, we want to make sure that we are contributing to reducing waste so we will only be using compostable cutlery and takeout containers. Basically, we are doing all the things that we would do at home for our own family.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
We were all close as brothers, and we had a close family. From early on, Sal was more of an artist, and I was more of a business person. We both learned to cook at a young age but Sal took his culinary skills to the next level while I went to business school at Stanford and worked in Silicon Valley. We had different tendencies that have really evolved into complementary skills that are well suited for a restaurant. Patricia joined Sal in his first restaurant 25 years ago and she really rounds us out as a team as she is able to work across the business – she is a crucial part of the kitchen with Sal but she also loves being with customers and managing operations.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.baldinucci.pizza/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baldinucci.pizza/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/baldinucci.pizza
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/baldinucci-pizza-romana-austin
Image Credits
Jane Yun
