Marcio Nogueira said his love for pizza, pasta and making people happy ultimately led him to purchase Carmine’s Pizzeria in Lewisville in 2009.

The Lewisville location, which opened in 2007, is one of four locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Nogueira said that all the Carmine’s locations are privately owned but that Carmine, the founder, is still alive.

Nogueira said Carmine, who is a native of Naples, Italy, lived in New York for a while before moving to Dallas. In Dallas, Carmine owned a bar where he cooked and sold New York-style pizzas along with drinks, and after several customers encouraged him to open his own pizza parlor he started Carmine’s Pizzeria in 1979.

Carmine’s more than 40-year-old New York-style pizza recipe is just one of the things that makes the eatery unique, Nogueira said.

“Pizza is our main thing, but we also have great pastas, salads, appetizers, desserts, calzones, Stromboli…” Nogueira said. “Our pizza is really good; it’s New York-style and hand-tossed, and everything is homemade here. We make our own sauce, [and] we make our own dough.”

Nogueira said that Carmine’s is also unique in that it serves extra-large pizzas. The possible sizes range from 14- to 24-inch pizzas.

Nogueira added that the smallest pizza is comparable to chain pizza restaurants’ largest.

Customers can choose from over 30 toppings and ask for their pizza cooked any way they like, such as extra crispy or soft and fluffy.

“Everyone likes pepperoni, but … every month we create a new pizza called a designer pizza, and we call it the pizza of the month,” Nogueira said. “We’ve done some that people like so much we actually incorporate it into our regular menu.”

August’s pizza of the month was the garlic chicken pizza, which featured garlic, chicken, feta cheese and tomato on an Alfredo sauce base.

Nogueira said fans of Carmine’s live throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, so the eatery has a uniquely wide delivery area, which includes Grapevine, Highland Village, Carrollton, Lake Dallas, Hickory Creek, Coppell and Flower Mound.

The eatery also offers catering.

Besides serving up extra-large slices of pizza, Nogueira said he also makes sure to serve the community.

In August, Carmine’s donated water to Creekside Mobile Home Park, which after a water main break July 31 left the community without clean water for days.

“We are a local restaurant; we are a community and we like to help out where we can,” manager Chris Dambrosio said. “We are a local restaurant, so we need to be that.”

THREE DISHES TO TRY
Baked ziti  $9.99
Ziti blended in ricotta, Parmesan and homemade tomato sauce topped with cheese and then baked

Manicotti $9.99
Tubes of pasta filled with cheeses, topped with homemade tomato sauce and cheese

Cheese ravioli  $9.49
Stuffed pasta with ricotta cheese, covered with homemade tomato sauce and mozzarella and baked

CARMINE'S PIZZERIA
1565 W. Main St., Ste. 210, Lewisville
972-956-0705
www.carmineslewisville.com

HOURS:
Mon.–Thu. 11 a.m.–9:30 p.m.,
Fri.–Sat. 11 a.m.–10:30 p.m.,
Sun. Noon–9:30 p.m.