From his newly remodeled rear patio, owner Luigi Agostini discussed being an Ocean Beach entrepreneur and Pizzeria Luigi’s place in the local culinary mix.
“The interesting story is here (patio), this used to be a separate lot with two buildings,” said Agostini, an Italian native who grew up north of Milano near the Swiss border, of his spacious patio with picnic tables, sun umbrellas, and fire pits. “They used to have a furniture shop and upholster stuff with horsehair back in the day.”
The owner of three other Pizzeria Luigi’s, the restaurateur pointed out OB “was always in the plan” for expanding, noting it took some time to find just the right spot at 5001 Newport Ave. “I came here and it worked out pretty good,” he said adding he’s always been a fan of OB’s “small-town vibe. I grew up in a small neighborhood in my hometown and everybody kind of knew each other.”
How Agostini came to the States is an interesting story in itself. “I was supposed to move to Australia and then a friend of mine said, ‘Hey, you want to go to California?’ said Agostini. “Next day I bought a plane ticket.”
Luigi left his small Italian hometown for San Francisco where he began what would be years of cooking and pizza making in restaurants from Los Angeles to Hawaii.
Finally, after coming to San Diego, he opened his first pizzeria in Poway in 2002. A short time later he opened up shop in Golden Hill. Pizzeria Luigi soon became a neighborhood institution for fast, affordable, and simple Italian food served from lunch to late at night.
After a pivotal visit from Guy Fieri of Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-ins & Dives” in the fall of 2008, Pizzeria Luigi’s business skyrocketed and pizza enthusiasts traveled from near and far for a slice of his signature pizzas.
The restaurateur has been in Ocean Beach since July of last year.
Are we going to see Pizzeria Luigi franchised? “I’m probably not going to open up another shop by myself,” replied Agostini. “I’m probably going to involve some of my boys who want to do their own thing.”
Pizzeria Luigi is not Italian-style, as you might expect. “It’s New York-style,” said Agostini pointing out there are two key ingredients to crafting a delectable pie. “Water is important, and a good balance in the product,” he said.
“We use bottled water. I change cheese very rarely. You don’t want something that is too overpowering. Then it’s going to kill the flavor of everything else. I like pizzas more on the mild side with tastes that blend well together.”
The pizzeria owner is working with his chef on introducing a couple of new pizza items like eggplant parmigiana, as well as a candy bar pie, and a cheese nugget pie with a cheese bowl deep-fried on it.
“We’re working on changing our pasta a little bit,” Agostini said. Chicken wings and sandwiches are also menu staples. “We’re also working on making our own bread, but that’s a little more complicated,” he added. “It’s hard to keep the consistency on making bread.”
Of his new patio, Agostini said: “We just wanted to create an ambiance more than anything else. We’re going to build a little bar outside, nothing fixed, something mobile so people can sit. We’ll see. It’s going to take some time.”
Pointing out “local people seem to embrace us pretty well,” Agostini added, “They like the product. We have tons of repeat customers. If you’ve got a good product – people will come. We’ve got a decent name out there in the City.”
Pizzeria Luigi’s
Where: 5001 Newport Ave.
Hours: Sundays-Thursdays 11 a.m.-11 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays 11 a.m.-2 a.m.
Contact: pizzerialuigi.com, 619-539-7025.
