Linger over Nittolo’s wood-fired pizzas, seafood social in Lake Leelanau
Eric Nittolo delivers a Pepperoni and Margherita pizza.
By Jacob Wheeler
Sun editor
“When we make reservations for you, it’s for the table, not for the time,” Eric Nittolo reminds customers. “You’re not rushed. We take the European approach to dining.”
Nittolo opened his wood-fired pizzeria on February 20 at the former home of Bella Fortuna in Lake Leelanau. The New Jersey native is a graduate of the Great Lakes Culinary Institute at Northwestern Michigan College and former executive chef at The Boathouse Restaurant on Traverse City’s Old Mission Peninsula, Reflect Bistro at Cambria Suites, Bonobo Winery and LochenHeath Golf Course in Williamsburg. He has long wanted to open his own restaurant.
Nittolo’s Pizza has enjoyed immediate success in Leelanau County.
“It’s been an unbelievable reaction. Incredible!” said Nittolo. “As of today, we’ve sold more than 1,300 pizzas in the first 10 days.”
As promised on social media, Nittolo gave away $100 in free pizza on February 27 after he sold pie number 1,000.
Nittolo, a third-generation Italian whose great-grandparents, John and Raefela, immigrated through Ellis Island in the early 1900s and settled in Brooklyn, makes wood-fired “Florencian” style street pizzas. He uses his late grandmother Geneive’s sauce, and emphasizes the quality of the dough—“the crust is a cross between a piece of bread and a cracker” with just enough chew with the Best meats and cheeses money can buy,” states his website.
Wood-fired pizzas currently on the menu include a Margherita, a Pepperoni, a Meatball Parmesan, a Greek, a Classic Cheese, a Vegetable, a Napoli, and an Eggplant Parmesan. By this weekend he hopes to add rigatoni with meatballs and sausage, Caesar salads and cannoli and ice cream sundaes for dessert.
“People have been telling me, ‘this is the best piece of pizza they’ve ever had in their lives.’ The crust is different; the toppings are different. What I’m doing is putting charcuterie on a pizza.”
Nittolo’s is a “famiglia” affair. Eric’s son Dominic, 20, will handle day-to-day operations at the restaurant, having honed his skills at Pepe Nero in Traverse City. Five more of Eric’s children, Vincent, Danielle, Eleanor, Angelina, and Maximo, will also join the team.
The restaurant offers seating for 32 inside and can accommodate as many as 125 on the patio once the weather warms. Eric estimates that one-third of his customers have dined in since he opened on February 20; the other two-thirds have taken their pizzas to go.
Eric plans to open Nittolo’s Seafood and Social in April in the other half of the restaurant. He’ll feature three-course, high-end seafoods and meats.
“We buy the highest quality proteins money can buy. We sell freshness. We’ll have bluefin tuna and other fresh fish coming every day. We’ll have Miyazaki beef. And the wine list will be out of sight.”
Check out the website and hours of operation for Nittolo’s Pizza here.
