The restaurant is owned by twin brothers Salvatore and Gabriel Baldinucci, along with Salvatore’s wife, Patricia Baldinucci.
The brothers grew up in Long Island and learned the pizza business from their father, who was an Italian immigrant, Gabriel said. Gabriel, who has a Masters of Business Administration from Stanford, came to Austin two years ago to work on startup companies.
“When I got here, I saw that there was this real opportunity for pizza,” he said. “There weren’t enough pizza places because this is a barbecue and taco town. There wasn’t a place just to get a slice.”
Baldinucci Pizza Romana first opened in March as a takeout-only location at GhostLine Kitchens in South Austin. Following the move to West Lake Hills, the GhostLine Kitchens location will remain open for catering only, Gabriel said.
“We were going to keep delivering out of [GhostLine Kitchens], but it got so busy here that we had to pull our staff over. We far exceeded what we thought we were going to do,” he said.
The style of pizza used by the restaurant is called Roman-style pizza: a thin crust that resembles a flat focaccia bread and is typically served by the slice. The crust of the pizza is also filled with air pockets to create a light and airy taste.
“It doesn’t make you [feel] heavy and unhappy,” Gabriel said.
The restaurant also makes New York-style pizza, which involves large, hand-tossed pizzas made with wide slices.
Gabriel said one of the goals of the establishment is to give guests the experience of ordering and eating gourmet pizza without having to sit down at a restaurant.
“That’s what happens in Italy,” he said. “You go into a side street in Rome and you get all these choices that are super high quality, and you’re in and out [of the eatery] in 15 minutes.”
The restaurant offers a variety of gourmet pizzas, involtini, panini and salads crafted using imported Italian flour, pure olive oil, premium mozzarella, fresh vegetables and meats.
Even though Baldinucci Pizza Romana opened in October, the response from the community has been great, Patricia said.
“Everyone in this community has been very supportive of our business,” she said. “We see the same people coming in, and they are bringing friends, family and new customers with them.”
Due to the success of their new restaurant, the family is considering expanding and moving to a larger location, Gabriel and Patricia said.
Baldinucci Pizza Romana
3300 Bee Caves Road, Ste. 110, West Lake Hills
512-382-1166
www.baldinucci.pizza
Hours: Tue.-Sun 11 a.m.-9 p.m., closed Mon.
