A celebrated San Francisco pizzeria, hailed as one of the city’s best by Condé Nast Traveler in 2019, will close for good at the end of this month after struggling to bounce back from the pandemic.
Ragazza is set to shut down on March 31 after 15 years in business, according to a Facebook post.
Co-owner Sharon Ardiana, a restaurant veteran who also owns the popular Gialina Pizzeria in Glen Park, said Ragazza’s sales have declined even as her lease is ready to expire. “I wanted it to be this place [where] people could find community,” she told the San Francisco Chronicle. “I built it, and they came. And then there was a pandemic, and they stopped coming.”
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Since the COVID-19 shutdown, Ardiana told the Chronicle, her sales on a typical Friday night at Ragazza have dropped by $2,000 to $2,500 compared to the pre-pandemic era. She pointed to a highly competitive pizza market in the city and a dwindling population in the NoPa (North of the Panhandle) neighborhood where Ragazza is located.
In fact, Ardiana told SFGate.com that the restaurant hasn’t generated significant revenue in the past five years, prompting her and her partner, Greg Hinds, to start talking about closure last year.
“We were super busy right before the pandemic,” Ardiana said in that interview. “We were doing crazy numbers, but then the pandemic happened, and everything changed….It’s crushing on so many levels, but if you’re not making money, what’s the way forward?”
Ardiana also expressed concern about how federal tariffs could affect food prices. Ragazza imports some of its ingredients from Italy, including flour, Val d’Aosta cheese and provolone piccante. However, the Trump administration has given no indication that it plans to impose tariffs on Italy.
Ragazza opened to spectacular success in 2010, three years after Gialina Pizzeria debuted in Glen Park. Both made the Chronicle’s list of the city’s top 100 restaurants. Gialina will remain open, Ardiana said.
According to Condé Nast Traveler, Ragazza “inspired a serious following,” thanks to its “playful takes on Neapolitan classics.”
“There’s the Amatriciana, a riff on the pasta, made with pancetta, tomato, Calabrian chilis, and topped with a cracked egg, and the wild nettle, a savory masterpiece. Whether you’re coming with family or on a date—and, believe us, both are welcome here—grab some pizzas, a couple bottles of wine, and a tiramisu, and you’re in for a perfect night.”
Ardiana honored the women in her life in framed photos that decorate Ragazza and feature prominently on the restaurant’s website. “Ragazza (Italian for girl) is an homage to the women in Sharon’s family and grandmothers everywhere, who were tremendously talented cooks,” the site’s “About” section reads. In fact, she named Gialina for her own grandmother.
In a review for the Chronicle in 2011, restaurant critic Michael Bauer pointed to a Ragazza pizza topped with spigarello, sausage, red onions and fontina, noting that it “had a blister the size of a golf ball, giving way to tender, slightly chewy and buttery nuances enhanced by the earthy greens, sweet onions, fennel-infused meat and creamy cheese. I also liked a pie topped with potatoes, crisp at the edges, and a sprinkling of bacon with goat cheese, onion and rosemary; and a bianco version which features mozzarella and pecorino for bite, salty preserved lemon, thin slices of garlic and wild arugula that’s strewn on top when the pizza comes out of the oven.”
“Where Ragazza really distinguishes itself from other casual restaurants is in the service,” Bauer continued. “The staff is knowledgeable and expertly paces the arrival of dishes so the small walnut tables are never too crowded. Servers come back frequently to change plates and flatware, and are good at maneuvering and placating the crowd, which early in the evening consists of a lot of children who are as apt to fling a slice of pizza on the floor as put it in their mouths. As the night progresses, the children thin out but the lines get longer.”
“For 15 years we have shared celebrations, births, tears, laughter…and food!” the March 22 announcement about Ragazza’s closure on Facebook reads. “We will truly miss being here for you.”
