Laura Meyer, the first American and the first woman to win the Pizza in Teglia (pan pizza) division at the World Pizza Championship (WPC), will take center stage at a new pizzeria scheduled to open in Berkeley, California, next month.
As the San Francisco Chronicle reports, Pizzeria da Laura, which debuts on March 16, will showcase Meyer’s extensive talents with pies ranging from the New York and Detroit styles to grandma and Sicilian pizzas.
Scott Wiener of Scott’s Pizza Tours in New York has called Meyer “a true pizza ninja” and “a force of good in the pizza community.” Meyer previously served as head chef and pizzaiola for Tony’s Pizza Napoletana and as executive chef of Pizza Rock Restaurant Group.
Meyer was just two years out of college and working for Gemignani when she journeyed to Parma, Italy, in 2013 and earned top honors in the WPC’s Pizza in Teglia competition. The following year, she won the Non-Traditional division at the International Pizza Challenge in Las Vegas.
The COVID-19 pandemic spurred her to venture out on her own, she told the Chronicle. “It felt like the right time, with how much the world was changing, how much the industry was changing, how much I was changing.”
Recipe: Laura Meyer’s Peach Pie
She launched Focaccia da Laura, a pop-up, that was so successful, she kept selling out of product. The experience, she said, “confirmed, yes, this is something I want to do, something I’m going to do, and that I’m confident in myself that I’m going to do it.”
According to the Chronicle, Pizzeria da Laura will offer 11 specialty pizzas in four crust styles as well as vegan options, with prices running between $18 and $38. One of them, the Ray J, is named after her brother and features two types of pepperoni, a creamy stracciatella, a sweet and spicy house-fermented honey, fresh basil and shaved Parmesan. The pizza that won the WPC trophy, La Regina, will also be on the menu, sporting soppressata, prosciutto, shaved Parmesan and arugula.
Related: Women in Pizza: How pizzaiolas are shaping the industry’s future
Meyer will also honor her mentor, Gemignani, with a calzone—called the G.O.A.T.—featuring prosciutto cotto, ricotta, mozz and tomato sauce.
Pizzeria da Laura will seat 75, including 40 on the ground floor and 35 on the mezzanine. Lunch will be a slice-only affair while dinner will feature whole pies only.
