The pizzeria Tre Amici, in Bayamón, started in 2021 as a project among three friends who shared a love of pizza. At the restaurant, which serves Neapolitan pizzas, the wood-fired oven is "the king of the floor," and, with demand growing, the pizzeria will soon move to a larger space in the historic downtown of the town, said Arelis Rosa, one of Tre Amici's three founders.
"Our goal was to move 40 hand-made pizzas. Now we're selling almost 300 doughs a day, and we're still making them by hand," Arelis said.
Pizza has had a presence in Puerto Rico for several decades. In 1950, the restaurant La cueva del chicken inn, located in San Juan and opened in 1947 by Raúl Juliá González, father of the Puerto Rican actor of the same name, sold "the first pizza made from an original recipe in a stone oven in the country," according to the business's website.
A search for the word "pizza" in the Department of State registry returns 194 results for active corporations that include the term in their name, while "pizzería" returns 32 results.
The number of pizzerias in Puerto Rico stood at around 900 as of 2019, though that figure has declined since the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused some businesses to close, said Jaime Villamil, president of CGV Creative Group, which organizes the event Puerto Rico Pizza & Beer Fest.
"There are definitely a few fewer pizzerias than before, but probably the ones that are here to stay, and new ones keep opening, so it's likely that in the coming years we'll see direct growth in the number of pizzerias in Puerto Rico," Villamil said.
The emergence in recent years of pizzerias such as Tre Amici, Bambina, Deep Dish PR, Selena and Venus Pizza, among others, has marked a shift in the industry by introducing new concepts and styles to the local market. And, in the view of the pizza makers who spoke with Platea, the near future will bring the opening of even more pizzerias.
Platea spoke with pizza makers about the local pizza industry. The pizzerias were selected for the diversity of their styles, such as New York and Detroit, and concepts, ranging from fast casual to a combination of the Italian dish with cocktails.
At the most recent edition of the Pizza & Beer Fest, held this past August, Bambina, a pizzeria that opened just four months ago, was chosen by the public as the best pizza at the festival.
Carlos Avilés, president of Bambina, said that at events like the festival, public demand for "quality pizza" is evident. "People are looking for pizzas with fresher ingredients, artisanal techniques," he said.
Bambina, which specializes in Neapolitan pizza and is located in Caguas, also offers cocktails and pastries, and looks to appeal to the Puerto Rican palate with local, fresh ingredients, Carlos explained.
In Carlos's view, the growing demand for pizza in Puerto Rico is due in part to an expansion of "gastronomic culture," with "a greater appreciation for artisanal cooking and for products that offer unique experiences." He believes demand will continue to grow.
"Pizza remains one of the most versatile and popular foods in the world, and Puerto Rico is no exception," Carlos said. "The ability to customize ingredients, sizes, pizza styles, from traditional to gourmet, I believe that's what allows the product to stay relevant for different types of audiences."
For Luis Bautista, Deep Dish PR, which serves Chicago-style pizza, represents memories of his childhood in that city, where he and his brother, Christian, lived for the first ten years of their lives.
The brothers launched the business in 2020 as a kind of ghost kitchen. Customers placed their orders and pickups were made in the parking lot of the Pueblo supermarket at Plaza las Américas.
Then, Deep Dish PR occupied, from June 2023 through this year, a space at Lote 23, in Santurce, through a culinary incubator program, and at the end of last May the brothers moved the pizzeria to a space (where the restaurant Rebecca used to be) at Placita Roosevelt, in Hato Rey.
"Wednesday and Thursday are more relaxed days, but by Friday through Sunday it's a full dining room all day, a wait list, to-go orders, the phone doesn't stop. It's a really cool experience that keeps us busy all the time," Luis said. "I love the moment when I stop to look around and what I hear is people enjoying themselves," he added.
Luis attributes the warm reception for new pizzeria concepts largely to social media, since "people see what's being consumed in other parts of the world." He said new pizzerias will emerge, but those that stay "true" to their concepts will be the ones that stand out.
"There are so many incredible pizzerias emerging right now and so well established that it fills me with incredible pride to see more keep coming. I don't see it as competition," he reflected.
Like Deep Dish PR in its early days, Venus Pizza, which serves Detroit-style pizza, currently operates virtually, through pre-orders. Lately, Instagram stories announcing that pizza orders have sold out have become frequent.
"I always wanted to have a pizzeria, it was always my goal for my first business," said Carlos Jeriel González, founder of Venus Pizza, which began operating this year.
"Venus as such came out of how that reception toward new pizzerias offering a different experience beyond what the chains provide has been looking, and we found that it was the right moment, personally, in my life, and in how the market is moving," the pizzeria owner explained.
The business has grown quickly. By early last July, the pizzeria's Instagram page had fewer than 2,000 followers; it now has 14,700.
"I didn't think we were going to have so many eyes on us so fast," Carlos Jeriel said.
Unlike other pizzerias, the main product at Selena, in Río Piedras, is not the whole pie but the slice. Amanda Isabel Ramos Marichar, the creator of the pizzeria, which works in the New York style, was looking to establish a fast-casual business.
"It's very focused on being a quick-service option for people who have limited time and can't always sit down at a table with table service and all that," Amanda Isabel explained. "I also think it's a little bit of nostalgia, because I remember going to Sbarro and being able to order slices just like that. It's an area of opportunity in Puerto Rico because there aren't many slice shops," she added.
Selena opened more than a year ago and can sell between 400 and 600 slices in a day, Amanda Isabel said. The business also offers whole pies.
"I find the pizzeria thing really interesting, that all of a sudden there are a lot of them, and it's a market that may be saturated, but at the same time I believe the cake is big enough for everyone. Not all pizza styles are the same," she said.
In addition to serving Neapolitan pizzas, Tre Amici also has cocktails, and the owners prioritize the dine-in experience over preparing takeout orders. (For that reason, Arelis said, you won't find the pizzeria on food delivery apps.)
Arelis predicted that the pizza industry will continue to grow and that many of the pizzerias currently operating as food trucks will open brick-and-mortar locations.
"What I expect in the next year is that those young people making pizzas in food trucks, many of them are going to move to having places where you can sit down and enjoy. The trend is going to be that we're going to have a lot of pizzerias," she said.
This content was translated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
