The Bay Area’s master pizzaiolo, Tony Gemignani, has no intention of slowing down. Not as long as there are diners who don’t know the delights of a Detroit pie, with its crisp edges and red-sauce tracks. Newcomers to the New Jersey style of pizza. And those unaware of such underappreciated ingredients as purple potatoes, honey and apricot jam.
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Fremont native Gemignani, who mastered his pizza-tossing skills at Pyzano’s in Castro Valley, holds numerous titles and was the first non-Neapolitan to win the prestigious World Champion Pizza Maker title. He owns restaurants in the Bay Area, Las Vegas and elsewhere and operates the International School of Pizza in San Francisco.
And now he hopes to add dozens of branded Slice Houses by Tony Gemignani to his list of credits.
Naturally, we had questions about his franchise plans. Here’s an edited version of our conversation.
Q: What’s the secret to dough-tossing success?
A: It takes stamina, dexterity and skill. It’s like what a Harlem Globetrotter does with a basketball.
Q: You’ve won world titles galore and international acclaim for your pizzas. You own and run numerous restaurants. What’s behind the decision to franchise?
A: After the pandemic hit in 2020 and plans of expansion were in question, our team realized the overwhelming success at Slice House in Walnut Creek (which came after the San Francisco North Beach location in 2016) and saw the long-term potential for an expanded, fast-casual chain with high-quality, diverse styles of pizza. In July 2022, we officially launched the franchise program to expand the footprint.
Q: Your website lists more than 70 restaurants in development in California alone. How do you plan to handle training and maintain quality control?
A: The growth of Slice House has been extremely fast, but we have met some amazing partners along the way. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, so having consistency throughout our franchises is important. Training and support are critical and having the right infrastructure is crucial.
Q: Who have you brought onboard?
A: Our franchises are supported by a team of hands-on veterans with years of experience in the multibillion-dollar pizza industry including myself, as well as hospitality masterminds George Karpaty, Tom Leeper, Trevor Hewitt and Bill Ginsburg; field operations training manager Dominique Jordan; and head corporate chef Anthony Anderson. They assure that the craft of pizza making is not only respected, but mastered and protected at all locations, which helps us guarantee consistent quality.
Q: Your Slice Houses offer New York, Sicilian, Grandma, Detroit and New Jersey styles of pizza. What characterizes a Jersey pizza?
A: It’s a sauce-on-top pizza that is similar to a pizza you’d get in Trenton, New Jersey.
Q: Which regional pizza style might you still add to the menu?
A: Maybe Tavern / Chicago Thin Crust style.
Q: What are a few of your bestsellers?
A: Wise Guy (Calabrese sausage, Italian sausage, pepperoni, tomato sauce, ricotta, green onion and Tony’s Hot Pepper Oil) and Sweet Gino (two types of mozzarella, tomato sauce, basil sea salt), as well as any Detroit we have by the slice.
Tony Gemignani’s award-winning Cal Italia pizza, with prosciutto, four cheeses, fig preserves and a balsamic reduction, is served at his Slice Houses. (Laura Oda/Bay Area News Group) (Laura Oda/Bay Area News Group archives)
If you’re looking at whole pizzas, the Cal Italia (his award-winning pie topped with Prosciutto di Parma, fig jam, four cheeses and a balsamic reduction), Hot Honey (with housemade hot Italian sausage, pepperoni, mozzarella) and Motorhead (tomato sauce, salami, mushrooms, pepperoni, bacon, Italian sausage, ricotta) are all top sellers.
Q: Which pizza do you wish more customers would try?
A: The Purple Haze (purple potato, bacon, pesto, feta, rosemary) is my favorite, and I feel like it’s underappreciated!
Q: The Apricot Fields pizza you created for the new Mountain View franchise would be appropriate for any Slice Houses that open in the Santa Clara Valley, where fruit orchards made this the Valley of Heart’s Delight long before it became Silicon Valley. Will that become a signature creation?
A: That wasn’t the plan, but never say never! It has been very well-received, which I’m very happy about. We have extended exclusive pizzas to more than one location under the same franchise partner, so it’s possible that we’ll see it pop up on another menu at the very least.
Q: A few personal questions now. What’s your go-to slice?
A: Detroit!
Q: When you’re not eating Italian, you’re eating … what?
A: Mexican, Thai, Chinese, BBQ. I eat everything.
Q: How do you tell people to pronounce your name?
A: It gets butchered allll the time. Jumangi, etc. I sometimes tell people to think of it as “Jim and Annie” because if you say it quickly, it sounds like Gemignani. Even Italians have spelled it wrong on awards I’ve received in Italy. The proper pronunciation places an emphasis on the Y in yani.
Q: Tell us about your philanthropic work for the George Mark Children’s House.
A: For the past eight baseball seasons, I have teamed up with the San Francisco Giants and the George Mark Children’s House of San Leandro to launch two seasonal Slice House pizza flavors – this year with outfielder Michael Conforto and all-star pitcher Logan Webb.
I work closely with the players to craft specialty pizzas that highlight their favorite toppings, and those limited-edition pizzas are available throughout the season with $1 from each slice and $6 from each full pizza donated to the organization, which provides compassionate care for children and young adults with serious medical conditions.
Q: Besides the franchise expansion, what do you have going on professionally?
A: There’s no shortage of excitement in my world! I recently launched a new cookbook called, “The Pursuit of Pizza,” which I co-authored alongside a few other pizza champions. The book features nearly 50 recipes, and many offer QR codes to how-to videos for things like how to stretch pizza or how to cut a Roman pizza with scissors correctly. (Click here to read our Eat Drink Play section coverage of the cookbook.)
Additionally, I’ve recently partnered with Princess Cruises as a celebrity culinary collaborator to bring my pizzas to sea for guests to enjoy.
I also pulled off another successful Pizza, Bagel, and Beer Festival in North Beach and am already in the planning stages of year No. 3.
And I look forward to seeing what comes my way next!
TONY GEMIGNANI
Position: Chef and restaurant owner
Family: Wife Julia and son Gino
Residence: Alamo
Education: Washington High School in Fremont, where he took home ec and cooking classes
5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT TONY GEMIGNANI
— He owns a 1950 Mercury Chop Top, a 1950 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 and a 1967 RS/SS convertible Camaro.
— He and his son tend a garden of tomatoes, watermelon, and fig and apricot trees.
— He collects vintage everything, from baseball cards and Star Wars toys to 1940s-’50s records and old pizzeria ashtrays.
— Among his tattoos are pizza cutters on both hands. He also has a tattoo that says “Pizza for Life” across his chest.
— He has a small vineyard planted in cabernet, merlot and sangiovese grapes.
