Father and son continue tradition of serving Italian food

Although Tony C's Coal Fired Pizza co-owner Tony Ciola is just 28 years old, he has many years of experience supporting his restaurant through his partner and father, Dan Ciola.

Dan was the former owner of Ciola's, a Lakeway establishment for eight years. Ciola's closed in May 2011 after being sold to Dave Staab and being renamed Dominick's.

The Hill Country Galleria had originally asked Ciola's to open in the shopping center. Ciola's said no, but would be interested in opening a pizza restaurant if a location opened up near the Cinemark Theatre.

While Tony is following in his father's footsteps by working in the restaurant business, "This was the last thing my family wanted me to do," he said.

Tony had been a baseball player in high school and went to college to play as well. But an injury set him back, and he ended up dropping out of college and began washing dishes at Ciola's. But after he worked his way up to becoming manager, his dad decided to partner with him so Tony could open his own restaurant.

Tony said he really enjoys the restaurant business.

"I enjoy that every day, you're put on the spot. You're either making people happy or you're not," Tony said. "You have to adapt to personalities and staffing."

He said he especially enjoys creating memories for people.

"You get to host special occasions," Tony said. "It's almost like theater—setting a stage. You get to host a party every day."

Tony C's, which opened about three years ago in the Hill Country Galleria, serves coal-fired pizza, a tradition which dates back to the 19th century.

"We created the concept ourselves," Tony said. "It's sort of an old meets new with the brick old and new, modern furniture."

Tony said he decided on the coal-fired method after visiting Lombardi's Pizza in New York City, which opened in 1905 and is still in operation.

"It was above and beyond anything else," he said.

Tony C's also hired Cliff Abrahams, who had owned a pizza parlor in Fort Collins, Colo., for three years to help in the kitchen.

The menu consists of pizza, pasta, salads and sandwiches. Unlike many pizza restaurants, Tony C's offers pizzas by the slice all the time—cheese, pepperoni and a "slice of the day."

Tony is also a partner with Creed Ford IV in Lakeway's The League, a restaurant reminiscent of Prohibition-era speakeasies.

This fall, Tony and Ford will be opening a second location of Tony C's in Avery Ranch, across Parmer Lane from Z'Tejas. It will be very similar to the location in Bee Cave, except it will include a wine market, will be larger in size and will have a wider selection of tapas.

Tony C's will also expand its wine selection and is considering adding wine flights to the menu.

Both locations will be moving toward beer and wine only. Tony is working toward his Level 1 sommelier certificate.

Tony C's Coal Fired Pizza, 12800 Hill Country Drive, Bee Cave, 263-3473, www.tonycs.com