“We’re not just a pizza shop,” McNamara said. “We’re Wise Guys Pizzeria. We’ve got pizza, pasta, sandwiches; ... we’ve got all the Italian food!”
McNamara also said that while he and his staff are cranking out food on a daily basis, being in the hospitality business allows them to be a part of the community.
One recent example of the business supporting the community was during the ice storm that hit the first week of February. McNamara said he knew while some of his employees needed to stay home, others needed to be at work to earn a paycheck and support their families.
“We also needed to be open for our Grapevine family,” he said. “We’ve been here eight years, and police officers, firefighters and the hospital staff members know that we’re always here for them. We felt like while many restaurants were closed, we had to stay open for them.”
Not only was Wise Guys Pizzeria open during the ice storm, many of the meals prepared were donated to first responders. The skeletal staff of six employees ended up making hundreds of meals over the 48 hours when the storm was at its worst.
The first restaurant was opened in Orange, California, by McNamara’s uncle in 2007. McNamara flew out to meet with his uncle and convinced him Texas would be a great market.
“We opened our first Texas location in Grapevine in March 2015 and then the second one on Oak Street in Roanoke in July 2017,” McNamara said. “There’s also a fourth location in Yorba Linda, California.”
McNamara said, no matter which restaurant, each one uses the same quality ingredients and hand-tossed dough. Plus, while people wait for their food to be cooked, they can snack on free garlic knots, what McNamara calls their “chips and salsa.”
Wise Guys Pizzeria features 13 specialty thick-crust pizzas and 10 specialty thin-crust pizzas on their menu. They also have a special G.R.A.C.E Pizza, and a portion of those sales support Grapevine Relief & Community Exchange charity in Grapevine.
Beyond pizza, Wise Guys has an extensive menu of Italian favorites, including fried mac and cheese, Italian hot wings, creamy chorizo penne, and shrimp scampi linguini. Additionally, 25 local craft beers are available on tap as well as wine and cocktails.
