Independent Operators
Atlanta Pizza Truck: A whole new kind of 'pizza mobile platform'
In Italy, where pizza — and especially pizza Napoletano — is virtually a religion, three-wheeled Piaggio Ape trucks are everywhere. That's one main reason an enterprising Atlanta pizzaiolo thought one of those vehicles would be the best way to create and deliver the traditional pie of Naples to the people of Atlanta.
January 4, 2021 by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group
In the pizza world these days, any mention of "mobile platforms" is typically in reference to the tech that supports a brand's mobile app. One emerging pizza brand — Atlanta Pizza Truck — took a more literal approach, however, when it launched in April.
Its kitchen is a baby blue, 1982 three-wheeled Vespa Piaggio Ape truck, which is also the platform of a hefty, color-coordinated, blue-and-white-tiled wood-fired pizza oven. Launching at the start of the pandemic wasn't easy, but the truck was able to speed right into Atlanta's food scene and hasn't braked yet.
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| (Shown left to right)Sofia Arango and Alessio Lacco, of Atlanta Pizza Truck, take Pizza Napoletano on the road in Atlanta.(Photo provided) |
At the wheel of this venture is Naples native and culinary mastermind, Alessio Lacco, and his Venezualan partner, Sofia Arango, who handles business and marketing. The two are about as easy-going and energetic as you'd suppose them to be as the engine behind this pizza engine.
In fact, the pair — who man their mobile pizzeria wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the saying, "Legalize Marinara" — seem to be having as much as any of their delighted and amused customers.
Nonetheless, Lacco and Arango are very serious when it comes to the food they produce, namely the renown Italian fare known as Pizza Napoletano. As any pizza restaurateur knows, the crusty charred and cheesy sensation is a national obsession in Italy, where Alessio learned to make the pies from his mentor (or maestro in pizza professional lingo), Gaetano Esposito.
Now, lest you doubt the heavy-duty pizza street cred of that tutelage, let us remind you that Gaetano Espisito is actually the grandson of Raffaele Esposito, the man who created that very first "Margherita Pizza" for Queen Margherita of Savoy in 1889 at L'Arte della Pizza. In other words, the pies are authentic, traditional Italian, in every way, and Lacco has the prestigious certificate of Neapolitan Pizzeria from the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana to prove it.
The couple said business at parties and events and other locations all around Atlanta has been going great guns, even amidst the many restaurant restrictions brought on by the pandemic. And though the pair admitted that they were ultimately heading toward a fixed-location restaurant, for now they're just having fun literally rolling in the dough around Atlanta.
"When it arrived ... due to the weight of the oven it almost flipped!"
-Pizzaiolo Alessio Lacco
Pizza Marketplace recently hitched a ride with the pair to gain a better view of life on the rolled-out road for these free-wheelers of the pizza industry. See below.
Q: How did the two of you come together and then come up with this idea for a pizza oven on a three-wheeled truck?
Lacco: We wanted to bring a little taste of Italy to the city. We wanted to go further with this idea, to offer a whole experience that goes beyond food!
Q: How does having your oven in a very visually obvious position on a mobile platform help to accomplish that would you say?
Lacco: I would say it's the main attraction of the truck. People are amazed, watching and smelling the wood-fire-burning oven. It is a mouthwatering image!
"We (hear) a couple common expressions such as, 'Oh my God, I've never seen anything like that!' ... And then the bold ones (ask), 'How much did it cost you to make this?'"
Q: Can you provide some examples of how the weight of the oven originally affected your being able to move the vehicle where needed?:
Lacco: Well, when it arrived we bought a (vehicle) with a very thin door and (tried) to drive it in (that). Due to the weight of the oven it almost flipped!
We realized that … was a total 'no' because how heavy it was.
Now we tow it. We also had to reinforce the trailer's gate because it broke after the first week. Overall, it has been a trial-and-error experience since the beginning. We didn't have any reference of another people doing this!
Q: So this Piaggio Ape vehicle is created by the company that makes Vespa scooters, but I'm wondering where you acquired this particular vehicle and how you got the business going?
Arrango: Everything was bought and custom-built in Naples, Italy. The weight of the oven, indeed, presented a little challenge, but we were able to get it going. We are still working on some modifications for the truck to make it every day easier to handle.
Our truck arrived in March 2019. We did a few festivals and private parties, but we started to do it full-time on April 2020. Paolo's Gelato was our first location. Then we started to go around neighborhoods and breweries and haven't stopped since then.
Q: Why was it so important to put the oven on a mobile platform like this and use this approach to bringing this authentic Italian pizza to people in Atlanta?
Lacco: I wanted to do something different. I was looking for an antique vehicle with the capacity of carrying a pizza oven on top and came across the idea of a Vespa Car. Lately there's been a trend to modify these cars into something else.
They're from Italy. I grew up seeing them in the streets of Naples. So I thought "Why not to make a pizza truck out of them?"
Q: Give us some examples of some of the initial reactions to the truck have been there in Atlanta?
Arrango: Everyone loved it! People keep coming and coming to take pictures and asking us a lot of questions about it. Their reactions are always funny, in a nice way. We really enjoy it!
We (hear) a couple common expressions such as, "Oh my God, I've never seen anything like that!" (or) "Did you guys drive the truck here?" (or) "Where did you buy it?" And then the bold ones (ask), "How much did it cost you to make this?"
A fun experience to recall was that time a guy followed Alessio for like five minutes. When he reached a stoplight, he started to honk to catch his attention. The guy was amazed by the truck and wanted a business card. We still laugh remembering (Alessio's) little Rock-star moment.
Q: Still, a lot of Americans are used to pepperoni and pineapple-laden pies, so how have folks taken to this traditional pizza Napoletano as you tool around Atlanta?
Lacco:I have been making Neapolitan pizza for more than 10 years. I think there's already an established market for it in U.S. People tend to see it as a "fancy" style of pizza and they love the idea of having it made in their very own backyard.
Q: So what are your main sources or sources of customers to the truck – just catering or more varied?
Arrango: We have a little bit of everything. We have some regulars that have found us from our visit to breweries. But we also have found catering opportunities from going around. We serve all over the city and even beyond, so our customers are very mixed. It's an amazing experience!
Q: What are the challenges of cooking this form of pizza in this format?
Lacco:The oven needs to reach (a) certain temperature to achieve best results (900 degrees Fahrenheit). We need to start the fire one or more hours before the events in order to get it hot. But everything depends a lot on the weather.
Q: What kinds of weather most affects operation?
Lacco: Mostly rain and wind. Now, both rain and wind combined is just working in crazy hard mode for us.
Weather here in Georgia changes from one minute to another, so it makes even more difficult to predict, even with multiple weather apps. We have tents, sides for the tents, rain clothing and so on, but it still is a challenge.
Q: And add to that the challenge of the pandemic that you've been operating in over the last 10 months. So I'm wondering if this particularly vexxing restaurant operation year has taught you anything specific that makes you a better pizzaiolo and restaurateur?
Lacco:Be authentic. Connect with your neighborhood. Always try to go above and beyond for your customers
Q: Where do the two of you want to go with this concept growth-wise?
Arrango: Besides the catering, we would love to have our own restaurant. Right now, it's our first year, but we are really sure we are in a good path onto achieving that.
Q: Finally, what do you think that ol' Pizza Napoletano mastermind, Raffaele Esposito, would think of your venture were he alive today?
A: I think he would be impressed on how far his legacy has come … from serving the Queen Margherita in Naples, to Atlanta, Georgia. He would be proud!
About S.A. Whitehead
Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb editor Shelly Whitehead is a former newspaper and TV reporter with an affinity for telling stories about the people and innovative thinking behind great brands.
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