By Sofia Arango, Latinos en Pizza
Editor’s note: The following article is an expanded version of a profile featured in PMQ’s September 2025 cover story, Latinos en Pizza: 10 Wildly Talented Latino Pizza Chefs to Watch.
For decades, El Salvador was known for instability and danger, a country where entrepreneurship felt nearly impossible. But in recent years, something has shifted. Streets once ruled by fear are now home to new businesses, new energy and people daring to build their dreams. Among those stories is that of Antonio Portillo, founder of Pizza Factory in San Miguel and the city’s first true Neapolitan pizzaiolo.
Portillo didn’t inherit a family pizzeria. He didn’t train in a Michelin-starred kitchen. His story starts like all genuine passions: with a spark. It happened in Naples, Italy, where he tasted a traditional Neapolitan pizza for the first time. “I fell in love instantly,” he recalls. “The texture, the simplicity, the connection to the hands that made it…I knew that’s what I wanted to do.”
Back home in San Miguel, he noticed the obvious: No one was making that kind of pizza. In 2021, he set up a small oven in his backyard and got to work—experimenting, studying, failing, trying again. That spark grew into Pizza Factory, the first pizzeria of its kind in the region.
But bringing something new to an unfamiliar market wasn’t easy. “At first, people told us our pizzas were burned,” Portillo says. “It was discouraging. We almost gave up.” Instead, he decided to educate. He created a grassroots learning circle—customers who had discovered Neapolitan pizza began explaining it to others. “We didn’t start a trend. We built a community.”
That spirit of community runs deep in everything he does. Recently, Portillo had to leave his original location due to issues with the property owners. But instead of quitting, he chose to see it as a new beginning. He’s now opening a brand-new location, with more energy and clarity than ever before.
And if there’s one thing that sets Portillo apart—beyond his technique or talent—it’s his personality. As the editor of this piece, I can say it without hesitation: He is one of the kindest, most generous and open-hearted people I’ve met in the pizza world. When we visited him in 2024, he welcomed us with joy, showed us around his kitchen, answered every question with enthusiasm, and made us feel at home instantly. He’s not just a pizzaiolo—he’s a connector. A builder of community. A warm and humble soul whose hospitality leaves a mark.
His philosophy is simple but powerful: Do things right, even when no one’s watching. For Portillo, that means real ingredients, honest technique and respect for the process. His signature creation, the Pepperella Pizza, brings that vision to life. With a Neapolitan-style base, artisanally fermented dough, pepperoni, and fresh stracciatella, it fuses tradition with the approachable flavors people love. “It’s simple but soulful. It reflects who we are—rooted, creative and unafraid to elevate the basics,” he said.
Pizza Factory remains the only Neapolitan pizzeria in San Miguel, but Portillo doesn’t care about exclusivity. His mission is about representation. “We want our pizzas to be understood, not just eaten. We want people to connect with the flavors, the story and the process.”
He admires global icons like Franco Pepe, but his goals are grounded: to grow Pizza Factory across El Salvador and then to bring Salvadorans the best pizza in the world. Not as an imported luxury, but as a national source of pride.
If the oven is the heart of the pizzeria, then Portillo is its soul—human, passionate and never afraid to start again. He represents the best of today’s rising Latin American pizza movement: one where tradition becomes a gathering point, and each pizza is a story. A gesture of love. A reminder that from even the smallest corner of the world, greatness can rise—one slice at a time.
Sofia Arango is the founder of Latinos en Pizza, a network of leaders who are transforming the pizza industry in the U.S. and Latin America. She was PMQ Pizza’s guest editor for the Latinos en Pizza report for September 2025. Click here to read it.
