Today we’d like to introduce you to Jose & Jennifer Martinez.
Hi Jose & Jennifer , thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My husband was not happy in his job. He got to the point where he need medication to continue there. He came to me and said, “He wanted to quit his job and follow his dream!” So as any good wife would do I asked, “what’s your dream now Jose? After being married to him for a long time, I knew this was a loaded question. He replied, “I want to make Neapolitan pizza” Just for the record… I said NO! And just as any husband would do, he didn’t listen, and Pepe’s Neapolitan Pizza was born!
We have been open since March 2024. We started at the Yellow Green Farmer’s Market. We learned a lot about the business and met a lot good people that we now call friends.
Our main goal was always to have a mobile pizza business, and we made the jump in September of 2025, Since then our business has really taken off. We work with two different market companies, and run a pretty hectic schedule, setting up at hospital, universities, and office complexes during the week from Miami to Ft. Lauderdale. On Saturdays and Sundays you can find Pepe in his office on Ft. Lauderdale Beach where he serves up his pizzas and positive vibes in what he calls paradise.
During the last year we have participated in two charity golf tournaments, one of which, was the Conine All-Star Golf Classic..
We pride ourselves on using only fresh ingredients, authentic Italian products, and made from scratch dough for our pizzas. My husband stays true to the Neapolitan recipe when it comes to our dough. We use the flour and tomatoes from Italy for our pizzas and we grow our own basil. Some of our best sellers are, Margherita, Bianca, and of course Prosciutto Arugula. We also feature one pizza called ,”Don’t tell my wife!”. Pepe will tell you, it’s a Hawaiian pizza, but my wife is Italian, and they don’t put pineapple on pizza!
We also sell handmade fudge, kind of a His & Hers business model. My Mom and I have been making this fudge for over 30 years. We are Italian, so anyone that knows us knows they can expect fudge at Christmas. We have been told for years that we should sell it and now we are! Our fudge is made in small batches, using premium ingredients, in our heirloom copper pot. We feature Chocolate, White Chocolate, and Peanut Butter weekly, but also feature seasonal flavors such as Maple Walnut, Coconut, and Dubai Chocolate.
We cater too! Serving of course pizza, but this year we have added salads, entrees, and desserts too.
When I look at Pepe now he is not the same man he was before we started this business. Not only is he 3 years older, but he is prouder, stronger, and most importantly happy.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
For us this boiled down to location, location, location! Although we enjoyed our time at our permanent location, the traction was just not there for us. We tried to stick it out as long as we could, but moving to a mobile model was the best decision we made for our business.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Pepe has 24 years of culinary experience. He has worked in many restaurants all over the east and west coasts of Florida.
Jennifer started her career in teaching and for the last 22 years has worked in the casino industry here in South Florida.
What sets us both apart is our love for serving people. Our favorite part of this business by far is seeing the smiles on our customers faces. We get so excited to read our Google reviews as soon as we get them, and have worked very hard for our 5 stars.
Pepe says the children are his VIPs, he always invites them to be part of the process, from stretching the dough to watching it bake in under two minutes in our pizza ovens.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
For us, it has been the other vendors. We have learned, so much working along side of them.
The other thing I would add is to go to social media, see who is doing what you are doing, and follow them. I promise they will follow you back! It’s not about competition, it’s about building a community.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.PepesNeapolitanPizza.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pepesneapolitanpizza?igsh=MW9yeTZ3MTExdng2eA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1BpCjckU9G/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Other: https://www.google.com/search?q=pepe+neapolitan+pizza&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari#sv=CAMSoAIa8wEKBmxjbF9wdhImCgNwdnESH0NnMHZaeTh4TVhremNqQTVYM2MySWdZS0FCQUNHQUkSrAEKA2xxaRKkAUNoVndaWEJsSUc1bFlYQnZiR2wwWVc0Z2NHbDZlbUZhSFJnQUdBRVlBaUlWY0dWd1pTQnVaV0Z3YjJ4cGRHRnVJSEJwZW5waGtnRU5jR2w2ZW1GMFlXdGxZWGRoZWFvQkFMb0JCd29GY0dsNmVtSGdBUURxQVNJS0lBZ0tFaHhEU1VGQ1NXaEJWVmhSTTJjNVJUY3plUzFJU1hNM1ZsWkJjSEZEGhJsb2NhbC1wbGFjZS12aWV3ZXIgDCokCg5sY2wtcGxhY2UtdGlsZRIQcHYtL2cvMTF5M3IwOV93NhgBMAEYCiDNv4PdAQ
