One oven and a red door.
In 2018 Dario Vitale and Calvin Osei took over an old bakery on 36th Street because it had a gas line, a deep cellar and room for a wood oven. The oven came from Naples in 38 crates. Dario still mixes every batch of dough, and Calvin still runs the front.
Three days at a time, since day one.
Nothing here happened quickly. The dough takes three days, and the shop took three years.
2015
Pop-up pies
Dario and Calvin bake pizza in a trailer oven at farmers markets around Baltimore and sell out most Saturdays.
2017
The bakery lease
They sign for a 1920s bakery on 36th Street with a cracked floor and a cellar cold enough for dough.
2018
The oven arrives
A dome oven from Naples arrives in 38 crates. It takes six weeks to rebuild, and the first Margherita sells on opening night.
2020
The deck oven
A stone deck oven goes in for New York pies and Grandma Squares, and pickup orders keep the lights on.
2023
The slice window
A second shop opens on South Broadway in Fells Point, with slices until 2 AM on weekends.
2026
The Pie Club
Six pies on the board, a Pie Club of 1,200 and the same red door on 36th Street.
Two ovens, four stations.
A wood-fired dome, a stone deck oven, a row of steel pans and a walk-in cooler full of dough. Each station has one job.
The Dome
900°F
Margherita & Bianca
Wood-fired, oak only. Every Neapolitan pie bakes in about ninety seconds.
Good neighbors, not just good pizza.
Flour from real mills
Our New York crust uses flour from a family mill in Pennsylvania, and the tomatoes come from one farm in southern Italy.
The hands behind the pies.
Pizzaiolo and co-owner
Dario Vitale
Grew up in his grandmother’s bakery in Little Italy and spent two years at a pizzeria in Naples. He tastes the dough every morning and still lights the oven himself.
The best way to know us is a slice.
Dario or Calvin are behind the counter most Saturdays. Ask for them.