Al Santillo, a well-known pizzamaker, has faced two major challenges this year but continues to produce his popular pizzas. In January, a fire nearly destroyed his bakery and pizza shop in Elizabeth. Just weeks later, he started making pizzas at Coniglio’s Old Fashioned in Morristown on Sundays. His second setback occurred a few months later when an illness put him in serious danger. After healing, he began working in a ghost kitchen in Rutherford.
Like the lyrics from Chumbawamba’s song “Tubthumping,” Santillo refuses to be kept down by adversity. Northjersey.com spoke with him at his new location, where he operates out of a ghost kitchen in Casano’s Pizza Parlor in Rutherford.
On Mondays and Tuesdays, when another local pizza star, Dave Ligas, takes time off, Santillo uses the kitchen to prepare pizzas for Goldbelly, an online company that ships food across the U.S. and Canada. Last week, he shipped his first 65 pizza orders. He precooks the pizzas, allows them to cool, and then packs them with dry ice to keep them frozen for about 36 hours.
“It’s ingenious,” Santillo said, noting that the shipping costs are significantly reduced due to their volume. There is a minimum order of three pizzas, which costs $105 on the Goldbelly site, a price many find reasonable. Each package includes reheating instructions.
In more positive news, Santillo announced that the large brick oven in his Elizabeth shop, referred to as “the cathedral,” does not need to be rebuilt. After consulting various experts, including a New Jersey firm that advises crematoriums, it was determined that the oven may be fine. The concern arose when water from firefighting efforts seeped into the oven. Initially, Santillo believed it would need complete reconstruction.
Now, with the building rebuilt, they are gradually evaporating the water from the oven by heating the bricks slowly. Santillo hopes to reopen around Christmas.
This comeback is remarkable, especially since Santillo struggled to obtain fire insurance due to the age of his building and oven. However, the independent pizza community in New Jersey has rallied around him.
Dave Portnoy’s Bar Stool Sports pledged that proceeds from a pizza festival held on September 14 in New York City would aid Santillo’s rebuilding efforts, although he has not yet learned how much support he will receive from it.
Additionally, a Facebook group called Santillo’s Volunteers was formed after the fire to promote and support his recovery. Pizza makers like Ligas and Nino Coniglio have offered him space to continue making pizzas. Ligas noted that pizza makers have stepped up to support one another in recent years.
“There are a lot of guys doing a lot of good work,” Ligas said. “There’s no need to worry about the other shops.”
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