Few U.S. pizzerias claim a view as majestic as the one at Point Arena Pizza. The shop sits on a pier overlooking the Pacific Ocean and features picnic tables that are sometimes quite literally touched by the waves.
New York-style pizzas come out of the brick-oven that is covered in stickers preaching against violence, among other things, SFGate reports. The pizza place appears to offer quality pizza alongside the spectacular views.
Point Arena is located about 130 miles north of the San Francisco Bay Area, and yet it is a whole world away. Estimated to be home to about 660 residents, there is no seamless way to get to Point Arena. By car, on a good day, it might take three hours to travel the 130 miles from downtown San Francisco to Point Arena.
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Point Arena forged an identity as a fishing town when a pier was erected in the 1800s. According to SFGate, it was once the most bustling town between San Francisco and Eureka, located some 180 miles north.
The joint is owned by Diana Scott, who bought it from local restaurateurs in 2019, reports SFGate. Scott, a native of Menlo Park, California, is a graduate of UC Santa Cruz who gained pizza making experience running a pizza co-op at the university. She found Point Arena as she ventured up the coast to Canada. She was so taken with the town that she decided to put her roots down there instead. Eventually, she bought the pizza shop—then called Uneda Pizza—and has made it her own with a new dough recipe and some other menu tweaks.
“I care deeply about the dough,” Scott told SFGate. “It is the basis of what makes a great pizza.”
Scott also takes pride in the fact that Point Arena Pizza is still a destination for hungry fishermen. “Even if they come in from a long day on the water, after we are closed … there is usually a forlorn slice or a wayward misfire pizza waiting for a hungry waterman,” Scott told SFGate. “Often we get to hear their stories from a day at sea … miles out in the Pacific Ocean. It’s another world out there.”
Almost by necessity, Scott sources her ingredients from local farms. Because of the harsh weather in the area and lack of reliable roads, even the small city of Santa Rosa feels a world away. For these same reasons, Point Arena Pizza doesn’t even offer delivery.
“There are so many dirt roads that go far into the hills, I wouldn’t even know where to begin,” Scott told SFGate. “There’s no DoorDash here.”
Still, Scott couldn’t imagine serving pizza anywhere else. One certainly can’t beat the view.
“I love the cove so much,” Scott told SFGate. “I am blown away by how fortunate I am to be there.”
