Today we’d like to introduce you to Loris Mele.
Loris, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was born in Naples, Italy in 1986. After graduating from culinary school of Naples I was offered a position as Pizza Maker at Fratelli La Bufala. After accepting a transfer to Fratelli La Bufala in Miami Beach I decided to move in the states with my wife Simona.
I spent 7 years in Fratelli La Bufala and that experience really changed my life personally and professionally. I really owe the management and owners of Fratelli La Bufala a lot.
I think it is at Fratelli La Bufala Miami where I really fell in love for Neapolitan Pizza, the product that we served in that Pizzeria was the most authentic in Miami.
Around 2010, I started to think of opening my own Pizzeria.
I have in my heart my Grand Mother Pizzeria that she once owned in Naples and was forced to close “Pummarola.”
With the help of my 3 brothers we opened our first Pummarola in Florida on November 2012 in the Boca Town Center mall.
We had to fly to Indianapolis three times in order to secure the lease with Simon Malls.
After the big success, we decided to open our second location in the Gables that opened doors in December of 2014.
Starting from 2012 and every year after that I was invited to be part of the team of pizza makers in the representing Neapolitan Pizza in the world at The Las Vegas Pizza Expo (the best and biggest Pizza Expo in the world).
It was in 2015 that I also started to be hired by the Ministry of Agriculture to cater to many events of the Italian Government in South Florida. Thanks to the wood fired mobile pizza oven that we imported from Naples.
I today still work in both locations to make sure the product served is always to my standard.
My plans for the future is to open more Pummarola as long I can keep the quality and authenticity of my product.
The restaurant is “qui si mangia bene” “Here you eat well.”
Coral Gables is actually doing incredibly well, it is amazing the response we are getting from our patrons. We have been looking for a third location for a year but the incredibly high rent of South Florida is letting us taking our time before signing a new lease.
Has it been a smooth road?
I believe that there is no smooth road. When I first moved in Miami for sure I had to adapt the way of thinking and look for new friends. I was lucky to have my wife Simona next to me. After a couple of years, I realized that there is no better place than South Florida. The different culture, the life style and the weather makes SF the best place to be.
Having a business is for sure a big responsibility and the stress is sometime unbearable. What keeps me going is for sure the passion that my employee, my brother and I have for the word of Pizza. I have to mention two of my pizza makers that are really doing an amazing job, Daniele (Boca Pizzeria) and Leo (Gables Pizzeria). They really have an incredible passion for their profession.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Pummarola story. Tell us more about the business.
Rosa Donna Rummo was known for her incredible cooking skills.
Following a typical Italian tradition, every Sunday, Rosa Donna Rummo used to gather at her home the numerous members of her large family and feed them with the most delicious dishes that she created herself using only the freshest local products.
Everybody loved Rosa Donna Rummo’s pizzas and fresh pastas.
Rosa Donna Rummo used to drive to the local markets with a bright red FIAT 500 that everybody unanimously agreed resembled a delicious ripe tomato (Pummarola).
It didn’t take long for Rosa Donna Rummo to be labeled by the local grocers and her neighbors as “A Signo’ d’ ‘a Pummarola” which in Neapolitan dialect means “The Red Tomatoes Lady.”
Strongly exhorted by her children to turn her cooking ability into a profitable business, Rosa Donna Rummo in 1945 founded a small ristorante/pizzeria in the Quartieri Spagnoli, one of the most characteristic neighborhoods in the heart of Napoli.
Inspired by the nickname that made her so popular among the locals, Rosa Donna Rummo called her new business venture “Pummarola”. In a matter of days Pummarola was a huge hit!!!! Daily, hundreds of customers flocked into the small restaurant and long lines of people waiting to get a table were rapidly forming around the 16th Century buildings of the area.
Pummarola thrived for over two decades until the day that Rosa Donna Rummo died. Sadly, all of her children pursued other careers and moved abroad so, when she passed away, it was the end of Pummarola.
Her four grandchildren, however, still very attached to the fond memories of their Grandma and her small pizzeria, got together and decided to bring Pummarola back to life. They restored Nonna Rosa’s red FIAT 500, collected as many memorabilia as they could from her restaurant, they dusted off her recipe book and, in honor of their Grandma, they re-created Pummarola.
The siblings are now proud to offer the freshest and most authentic Neapolitan pizza and pasta dishes, carefully prepared following the authentic Rosa Donna Rummo’s recipes. Nearly 50 years later, Pummarola is now in Boca Raton in the Food Court of the Town Center Mall.
Displayed inside the restaurants is the red FIAT 500 that Rosa Donna Rummo used to go around the small streets of Napoli. You will also see several of the original pasta machines and utensils that she used in the original Pummarola.
TO OUR NONNA …….. TI VOGLIAMO BENE!!
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I think South Florida is finally getting some great restaurant.
Different concepts are coming out, from fast casual to fine dining.
Finally we have different cuisine…. Thai, Peruvian, good Mexican and Italian Fast Casual…. Pummarola.
I believe also that competition is also going to make a lot of business going under. In the future it will be harder for restaurateurs to keep their books in order due to the cost increase of rent, labor and food.
I believe that customers are asking for quality and affordability. Pummarola offers both.
Pricing:
- Margherita Pizza $8.50
Contact Info:
- Address: 141 Aragon Ave.
- Website: www.pummarola.us
- Phone: 7864096866
- Email: info@pummarola.us
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pummarolacg/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PummarolaCoralGables/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/pummarola-pastificio-and-pizzeria-coral-gables
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