Owner Spotlight: Brick Pizzeria Napoletana

In the past few years, downtown New Bedford has become a hot spot for entrepreneurs looking to set up a  new business.  Most recently, several new bars,  hair salons, a Korean restaurant,and two pizza restaurants opened for business.  NewBedfordGuide.com had a chance to interview John Goggin, one of the three owners of Brick Pizzeria Napoletana in downtown New Bedford.

How long have you been an owner of Brick?
Brick Pizzeria Napoletana opened just over two years ago.  The owners are Jeff Goggin, Jay Danials, and myself.

What did you do before owning Brick?
I spent over twenty years in the building supply business as an inside sales person and estimator.  I also worked with engineered-wood products, sizing beams, and designing floor systems.  During that time I also owned a small family restaurant in Westport with my late wife Cindy.

What are your most popular food items?
The popular items we serve at Brick are pizzas, calzones, salads, and we recently started making sandwiches.  We bake the bread when the order is placed.

My favorite topping is the roasted garlic.  Describe how you prepare it?
We place the peeled garlic in a deep pan filled with lite oil.  We then cook it in our wood-fired brick oven until the garlic becomes soft and the flavor has been slightly tamed.

What is the difference between a brick oven and a regular oven pizza?
The pizza at Brick Pizzeria Napoletana is quite different than pizza at other pizzerias you’ll find around the area.  Most run their ovens at 450-550 degrees.  We cook our pizzas at 800+ degrees for roughly two minutes.  It’s not just the wood-fired oven that came from Italy; we make our dough without any commercial yeast.  We use a sourdough starter, which adds it’s own flavor and character to our pizza.

Is there anything new we can expect for 2011?
We are always looking to make additions to our menu so customers will have a greater selection.  You may see desserts and coffee drinks offered soon.

If you could tell New Bedford residents anything about your restaurant, what would it be?
We are not the typical  pizzeria.  We work hard to make the best pizza we can, and we serve it in a family friendly environment.  We  make pizza the way its made in Naples, Italy.  It’s all about the dough, the fresh toppings, and the high heat of a wood-fired oven that blends  the flavors together.  We also serve wine and have a very unique beer selection.  You won’t find the big name beer brands: instead, we have a selection of lagers, pilsners, and ales.

My final piece of advice?  Eat the crust!  It’s the best part and we’ve put a lot of work into making it the best it can be!