Today we’d like to introduce you to Joey Vanoni.
Hi Joey, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I learned how to make pizza while in high school at one of the oldest pizzerias in the country, Sciortino’s Pizzeria, in Perth Amboy, NJ. After graduating high school, I joined the U.S. Navy and served abroad at sea and on the ground. While forward deployed, I would make pizza for my teams and give everyone a small taste of home. These were always a nice break from our work and would give everyone a bit of time to relax and share good conversation over some pies.
When I returned stateside in 2013, the government was in sequestration, the economy was not doing well, and I was unable to find employment. My good friend recommended I follow my lifelong dream and open a pizzeria. Another friend of mine then suggested I do so but on a food truck. Almost a year afterward Pizza di Joey food truck hit the streets of Anne Arundel County and Baltimore City.
Five years later in September 2019, after much consideration and demand from our patrons, we opened our first brick-and-mortar pizzeria in the historic Cross Street Market in Federal Hill, a longtime hangout of mine. Since then we have been voted Best of Baltimore: Pizza three times!
Even throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we did not stop slinging slices. I would often say, “I’ve made pizza at war. Nothing is stopping me.” We are proud to continue to serve our community authentic NY-style brick oven pizza.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Owning and operating Pizza di Joey has not been without its challenges. Most business owners will tell you the same. While operating on the food truck, we faced strangling regulations in Baltimore City, namely the “300-foot rule,” which severely limited our ability and the ability of many other food trucks to operate within city limits. That prompted me with the generous assistance of the Institute for Justice to sue Baltimore City in hopes of changing the law to allow for free market competition. After many years in court, we were unsuccessful. The courts decided that the city government essentially had the right to dictate who would and wouldn’t succeed in this marketplace.
Operating a food truck itself is teeming with challenges: mechanical, logistical, weather, etc.
Something is always breaking, you forget something that you cannot easily turn around for, the internet connection goes out, or it’s raining on the worst day imaginable. A food truck operator has to be adaptable, flexible, quick-thinking, and creative.
And just when I thought that many of my issues would be diminished by opening a brick-and-mortar pizzeria, I was then confronted with a whole new set of challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, which took hold six months after we opened our doors. We remained open and continued food service through our curbside carryout window. However, the city and/or utility company decided it was a great time to do street work. For the first four weeks following the COVID shutdown, we had utility and road construction outside of our window, prohibiting our customers from accessing our single medium of food service.
After that was completed, we faced additional construction in our immediate area, supply chain issues, labor shortages, and ever-increasing price hikes on supplies and materials. At one point, I was paying over $100 for a case of latex gloves that used to cost me $23. Regardless, I have done my best to keep my head down and charge forward!
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Pizza di Joey?
Pizza di Joey serves authentic NY-style brick oven pizza, and we do this for real! We pride ourselves on serving great slices that would remind anyone of a slice up in New York or New Jersey. We hand stretch our dough, use the finest ingredients available, and bake our pizza in a brick oven. We make pizza the way it’s supposed to be made. No shortcuts. No cheap tricks. Our pizza is baked all the way and doesn’t just flop over. We use time-honored practices and techniques, just like the ones I learned decades ago in New Jersey. We keep the classic pizzeria tradition alive. At Pizza di Joey we serve our patrons like we serve our friends and families: with love and good, healthy food.
As a Veteran-owned business, we are proud to support a local non-profit helping homeless Veterans right here in Federal Hill, The Baltimore Station. The Baltimore Station helps Veterans and other men suffering from homelessness, poverty, and addiction receive treatment, recover, and reintegrate back into our community. I always say that if having this pizza business was just about bread and tomatoes, dollars and cents, it would be meaningless. Being able to help my fellow Veterans, advocate for them, and at times feed them is my way of honoring the ethos of all Service Members: Leave no man behind.
What’s next?
We hope to expand. We would love to bring Baltimore’s Best Pizza to neighborhoods throughout Maryland. After emerging from the last two years and the challenges we faced throughout COVID, we are ready to push forward. Stay tuned!
Contact Info:
- Website: pizzadijoey.com
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/pizzadijoey/
- Facebook: Facebook.com/pizza.di.joey
Image Credits
Kiho Park Photography
