Today we’d like to introduce you to Giacomo Pizzigoni.
Giacomo, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My name is Giacomo Pizzigoni and I am a 28 year old Entrepreneur and Gastronome.I came to San Diego in 2010 where I got my Master in Business Administration from San Diego State University.
After I graduated I worked with a local Restaurant Group (Vigilucci’s) for over a year as a restaurant manager, where I learnt how to run a successful restaurant. I decided then to go back to Italy and spend some time learning gastronomy and traveling throughout Italy to discover our incredible food and wine diversity, meeting with small farmers and winemakers, learning about sustainability and transparency in the food supply chain.
Once I got this knowledge, I decided it was time to start my own food business, a restaurant to be precise, and that was going to be Ambrogio15. Together with my two current partners, Luca and Andrea, we worked on this new project for over a year, developing the concept of a gourmet, Milano style pizza experience, creating our own dough recipes and style of pizza (paper-thin, light to digest, rich in nutrients) and picking all the ingredients that we needed.
Then we came to San Diego, started our company, and picked the location, right in between PB and La Jolla, where we knew we could target a variety of different customers who would have appreciated our concept.
We knew there was a gap in the San Diego Pizza Market, a gourmet, high quality authentic Italian Pizza (not the traditional napolitan) and we were ready to fill that gap. Now, 1 year and a half later, our business is growing fast and we have a huge customer base of loyal friends and clients, and we are about to open our 2nd location in Little Italy, next June!
That will boost our growth, give us additional visibility and if we keep working the way we are doing, we will grow our concept through multiple locations in Southern California (and not only). This is the Milano Pizza Experience, a blend of high quality, sustainable, small production Italian products, a knowledgeable storytelling, a contemporary and modern design, to really showcase what Milano (and Italy in general) are in 2017, moving past all the stereotypes that fill the market in San Diego.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It’s been a “hell of a ride” 🙂 We overcame so many obstacles along the way but that made us stronger and even more committed. As we always say, our expertise, passion, teamwork and a bit of “foolishness” got us where we are now. Starting a new concept in a foreign country and working hard to help locals understand and appreciate it was not easy, but so far has been extremely satisfying for us.
Ambrogio15 – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We are a gourmet pizza restaurant. We specialize in paper-thin pizza that is made with a secret dough recipe that we created after hundreds of trials and after visiting several of the best pizza restaurants in Northern Italy.We use a special stone-ground organic flour from Verona, to help maintain the flavor and aroma of the Italian grain while making the pizza light to digest.
We call it the Milano Pizza Experience because gourmet pizza is a new trend that is very current in our hometown, Milano, and because Milano is right now the world capital of design and architecture and one of the most renowned cities in the world for food and gastronomy, a modern and contemporary vibrant city that we believe deserves to be discovered.
Milano and Italy have changed a lot over the last few decades, and so did our cuisine, so it’s time for foreign countries to learn more about what we are today and forget about old school, old fashioned pictures of Italy and its food. We are proud to represent our country and showcase one of its best aspect, food, as it is today, in 2018
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success is achieving your dreams.
There is a song by a band that I love, Kodaline, that says: “follow what you love and you will love what you do”.
I think this says a lot about success, because when you love what you do and you put efforts, and passion, and “heart” in your job, then only the sky is the limit.
I studied business, I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur since I was in high school, but it’s because I fell in love with a special world, the food, wine etc. world, that I was able to push myself beyond my limits and embark myself in this crazy adventure, and succeed in it, because I pursue my passion on a daily basis
Pricing:
- $ 14 for our main Pizza – Margherita (San Marzano Tomato, Mozzarella Fiordilatte, fresh Basil)
- $ 19 for our most expensive Pizza (Prosciutto Crudo di Parma aged 20 month and fresh imported Burrata Cheese)
- $ 6 for our cheapest wine, $ 15 for our most expensive wine (by the glass)
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ambrogio15.com
- Phone: 8582918650
- Email: info@ambrogio15.com
- Instagram: @ambrogio15pacificbeach
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/ambrogio15
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/ambrogio15-san-diego-2
- Other: https://www.tripadvisor.it/Restaurant_Review-g60750-d10260213-Reviews-Ambrogio15-San_Diego_California.html
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