Our Story
Emilio’s Wood Fire Pizza came to fruition after years of trial and error, developing what we believe to be the definition of a traditional Neapolitan style pizza dough. I have worked in pizzerias all my life, as a dishwasher, a line cook, waiter, host, delivery driver, and as a pizza maker. I worked my way into a managerial role before leaving the industry to become an electrician. The end goal was to save enough money to open my own pizzeria. When the COVID 19 lockdown began, I was laid off from my job. Out of work and trapped in a house all day, I realized that I finally had the time to build my dream pizza oven in the backyard. Along with my father, we built a beautiful traditional Neapolitan pizza oven in the backyard. This marked the beginning of Emilio’s Wood Fire Pizza. Unlike a New York slice, Neapolitan pizza is only served as a whole pie. Each pie is 12” and has an incredible lightness to the dough. All the ingredients are fresh daily and of the highest quality. To compliment the Pizza, antipasto, salads, and desserts will be available.
The next question is why Emilio? Who is Emilio? Well, Emilio was my great grandfather, and my middle name. One night when we were making pizza in the yard, my fiancé said "you should open a pizzeria and call it Emilio’s." My sister Olivia came up to me later in the night and said “You know Raf, one day you’re going to have a restaurant called Emilio’s.” They both independently said the same random thing on the same day… I took that as a sign and ran with it.
Hence Emilio’s Wood Fire Pizza was born.
And to show you where it all began, here are a few photos.
This is the original Emilio (Mills for short) my great grandfather. On the left is his army photo circa 1943 and on the right is while he was in the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp) in 1937.
Click on Civilian Conservation Corp. for more information about this program.
To the right is when I first fell in love with wood fire ovens. I always enjoyed an espresso while at work. Working here I learned that Neapolitan style pizza was my future.
To the left and right is my dad and partner, Rafael and I, standing in front of the wood fire oven that we built in our yard. This oven proved to me that my choice of career path was the right one.
This was the day the oven was put in place inside the restaurant! Emilio's has arrived and we welcome you all.
