A fire may have wrecked Santillo’s Brick Oven Pizza on January 6, 2024, but even a disaster like that can’t keep owner Al Santillo down.
Santillo has been busy rebuilding the pizzeria with help from the local community as well as support from One Bite Review’s Dave Portnoy. Santillo recently told Pix11 News that his pizzeria could re-open before the end of 2024. It just might be the comeback story of the year.
“I feel great about the progress,” Santillo said in the interview. “Everybody’s been helping. [The fire] turned into a wonderful experience, like it was something that was meant to happen.”
“The outpouring from the city, the mayor, Dave Portnoy…just so many people. I’m gonna make a whole list of them,” Santillo continued.
Santillo is still making his famous pizzas even with the restaurant’s doors closed. He started shipping his 12” round pies nationwide this summer through Goldbelly, offering pepperoni and sweet Italian sausage as toppings and also providing his signature pizza featuring mozzarella and Romano cheese. “It’s going to be the same thing I make at the pizzeria—the exact same thing,” Santillo told NJ.com in August.
Those pies are being prepared at Casano’s Pizza Parlor in Rutherford, New Jersey, with help from owner Dave Ligas. Ligas will also host a Santillo’s pop-up on November 11. “Everybody’s had to do their own thing and help everybody out,” Dave Ligas, owner of Casano’s, told Pix11. “So we’ll be doing his pies his way. I’ll just be here to help him out…and I hope everybody comes [to the pop-up].”
Santillo’s Pizza, a member of PMQ’s Pizza Hall of Fame, has become one of New Jersey’s iconic pizzerias, which is no small feat in a state that’s famous for its pies. Santillo’s grandfather, Lou Santillo, started the restaurant in 1944 with his son, Al Sr. Prior to that, Lou Santillo famously delivered his bread in a horse and buggy, starting back in 1920.
The low-arch brick oven used by Al Jr. is more than 100 years old. “These are considered the perfect proportions for an oven; every brick was individually cut by hand to make this arch,” Santillo once told PMQ.
In 2019, Arthur Bovino ranked Santillo’s Brick Oven Pizza at No. 47 in his prestigious list of the 101 Best Pizzas in America. “This New Jersey pizzeria is really something you have to experience for yourself,” Bovino wrote at the time. “Be prepared to order by the year—Al preserves every pizza style he can for posterity. They range from the 1940 Genuine Tomato Pie (no cheese) to the 2011 San Marzano ‘Tomatoes Over the Cheese’ Pizza. But there are other intriguing options like Lasagna Pizza, thin-pan, Roman-style and Italian bread. Start out with a 1957-Style Pizza Extra Thin (14-inch round) or the popular Sicilian pizza—or just ask Al to make you his own spontaneous creation.”
Also in 2019, Portnoy visited Santillo’s and gave the pizza an 8.3 score. He was impressed that the proprietor charged him full price, noting, “Everybody who knows me, they’re, like, ‘No, no charge.’ This guy, 35 bucks for two pies. Straight, I love it…I love the guy.” Later, in a February 12, 2019 tweet, Portnoy revised his score to a near-perfect 9.8.
Portnoy also pledged the profits from his second annual One Bite Pizza Fest, held in New York City this summer, to Santillo’s rebuilding efforts.
“A lot of the younger people really inspire me to keep going,” Santillo said in the Pix11 interview, “because I need that, too.”
“The fire may have touched our premises, but the heart of Santillo’s—our commitment to authentic, traditional pizza and the bonds we share with each of you — remains unscathed,” reads a statement on Santillo’s Brick Oven Pizza’s website. “[It] has taken a toll on the physical structure of our beloved pizzeria, but it cannot and will not extinguish the spirit that has kept us going for three generations. We are more committed than ever to come back stronger, ensuring that the legacy lives on.”