By Tracy Morin
In a food-centric city like New Orleans, restaurant competition is fierce, and it doesn’t stop at pizza. But Pizza Domenica, with two locations—in the city’s Uptown and Lakeview neighborhoods—has found its stride by blending traditional Italian wood-fired pies with local Louisiana flavors. (Pizza Domenica also throws in a few surprises for good measure—its banana pizza was so unusual that it went viral on social media and made the digital pages of Sports Illustrated.)
PMQ sat down with executive chef Phil Mariano to find out more about Pizza Domenica’s concept, marketing strategy and how it succeeds in a food-focused hotspot like New Orleans—while earning national attention for its creative takes on pizza.
PMQ: Tell us about Pizza Domenica’s identity and menu. How do you strike a balance between honoring Italian tradition and embracing New Orleans-style inspiration?
Phil Mariano: As a New Orleans native, it’s important to me that Pizza Domenica not only reflects the city’s culture and heritage but also pays homage to our home state of Louisiana. Even though pizza is not necessarily an iconic dish in our area, we still wanted to incorporate those bold, classic Louisiana flavors while staying true to pizza’s Italian origins, resulting in pies that are authentically Italian yet uniquely Louisiana.
We use fresh, locally sourced Louisiana ingredients wherever we can, especially when the ingredients are in season. Right now, Louisiana crawfish season is in full swing, so we’ve got a great crawfish pizza on the menu featuring fresh crawfish, mozzarella and the “holy trinity”—a fragrant mixture of onion, celery and green bell pepper central to Cajun/Creole cuisine. Even in our more traditional menu items, we like to use local ingredients—for example, our mushrooms used for pizza toppings are locally sourced.
To strike a balance between honoring Italian tradition and embracing our New Orleans and Louisiana background, we start with the classics—the techniques and the soul of Italian cooking—and then let Louisiana’s spirit find its way in. At the end of the day, we’re not trying to reinvent Italian food; we’re just letting our Louisiana roots have a seat at the table.
PMQ: Your banana pizzas earned recognition from Sports Illustrated. Tell us about the pizza—what inspired that idea, and how did guests respond? Did the national media coverage translate to local interest and more sales?
Mariano: I’m an avid fan of the Savannah Bananas, a barnstorming exhibition baseball team and part of the Banana Ball League. When the Bananas announced they were coming to New Orleans to play a game, I knew I had to get tickets but unfortunately was unable to do so before tickets sold out.
Since the Bananas are known for their wacky antics during games, I thought I’d try to win tickets by doing my own wacky antic: adding bananas on top of pizzas! Bananas as a pizza topping is actually fairly common in parts of Europe but was never really popularized in the U.S. I personally think the combination is pretty good, though!
We created a “Tropicana Banana” pizza as a limited-time offering, topped with ham, pineapple, fresh chilis and, of course, bananas. Guests appreciated the fun backstory behind the banana topping idea, but, honestly, didn’t really purchase many banana pizzas. However, the banana pizza videos did translate into increased traffic to the restaurant, which overall positively impacted our sales.
PMQ: Pizza Domenica has been recognized as one of the city’s and nation’s best pizza spots. What do you think has helped the restaurant stand out in a competitive dining scene?
Mariano: At Pizza Domenica, we prioritize using high-quality ingredients and creative twists in our dishes and emphasize hospitality and inclusivity for every one of our guests, creating one of New Orleans’ most welcoming pizza experiences.
Pizza Domenica was born from the extremely popular happy hour special at our mother restaurant, Domenica. We had the idea of bringing that happy hour atmosphere to a whole new restaurant so our dedicated happy hour patrons would have a place just for grabbing a slice with family and friends in a casual, laid-back—but still lively—setting. It’s what Pizza Domenica is known for.
We’ve also been playing around with social media and have truly unlocked the power of those platforms—on our Instagram page alone, we have nearly 12.5K followers and have had a few posts go viral, like our recent banana pizza videos. We like to have fun at Pizza Domenica, and our social media pages reflect that—they’ve not only helped with getting our name out there but have also helped to solidify our reputation as New Orleans’ fun, neighborhood pizza spot.
How do you create that “neighborhood gathering place” environment for both customers and employees?
Mariano: We were born out of Domenica’s happy hour, but we have a happy hour exclusive to Pizza Domenica: Every Monday to Friday from 3 to 5 p.m., our guests can enjoy pizzas, beer, wine and cocktails for half off. In addition to our happy hour, we also have a loyalty points program and catering options. All of these specials have helped make Pizza Domenica a neighborhood staple, where everyone comes together to share great food, drinks and memories—time and time again.
We also have an open-concept kitchen at both locations, so our guests have the opportunity to become immersed in the pizza making experience, from when we’re tossing the dough to when the pies are being fired in our custom-made, wood-burning Italian ovens. We believe this creates authentic connection between guests and our staff, creating a homey environment that invites people to come and gather.
Additionally, we’ve designed our dining areas with comfortable, communal-style seating—including long banquettes and roomy tables—to encourage people to bring other people. This layout naturally fosters lingering conversation and a genuine neighborhood feel where everyone is welcome to settle in and stay awhile.
Tell us about your seasonal menus that highlight New Orleans traditions like Mardi Gras and Lent. How do you spread the word about them—and about the restaurant in general?
Mariano: We do like to post specials and seasonal offerings on our social media pages—we have a large following on both Instagram and Facebook, so we find that spreading the word through social media is a great way to go.
Additionally, there are several media outlets in the New Orleans area that publish listicles of restaurants cooking up special dishes for regionally popular holidays, like Mardi Gras and Lent, so we always make sure to submit our menu items to these outlets.
As far as marketing goes, Pizza Domenica is more concerned about targeting locals than tourists since most of our clientele are city locals. We focus on marketing to families living in the neighborhoods we’re located in—Uptown and Lakeview—and enjoy partnering with high schools and universities in these areas to further our marketing efforts.
Looking ahead, how do you see Pizza Domenica continuing to evolve and/or grow?
Mariano: It’s all about constantly striving to be better—we just want to continue serving better pizza with better ingredients. We’ve been doing an excellent job so far with that, and I’d like to maintain that momentum going forward. There’s a lot of impressive competition in the area, so we also need to remain true to our brand and identity if we want to continue growing among so many standout pizza spots.
What advice would you share with other pizzeria operators looking to secure their own slice of success in a competitive environment?
Mariano: Honestly, the pizza business is tough right now. However, that’s exactly why it’s such a great time to sharpen the craft as a whole and build stronger operations. I’ve learned that focusing on exceptional quality, warm hospitality and smart efficiencies helps us not only survive but truly stand out. I encourage all the prospective pizzeria operators out there to stay passionate and embrace the challenge!
