Tomato Pie Pizza Joint Co-Owners Garrett Policastro and Freddy Suarez could never find a slice of authentic New York-style pizza in the LA-metro. Fast Forward 12 years and the nationally famous Tomato Pie Pizza Joint is opening its third location, this time in the pizza-by-the-slice-lacking Woodland Hills neighborhood.
In order to perfect Tomato Pie Pizza Joint’s pizza, Syracuse-native Policastro traveled back to New York and “absorbed” new recipes that would rival every nearby pizza joint. “So floppy and sloppy,” Policastro told What Now Los Angeles (WNLA) of California’s take on the New York staple. “Why couldn’t anyone make a good pie?” Policastro and Suarez felt the market was saturated with sub-par pie. Now, they feel like they’re “giving back to the community, one slice at a time.” They’re really entrenched in the communities they work in, covering their corners around the metro, he said. Hunter Phelan and Zack Bezner are minority owners of South Pasadena and Woodland Hills locations, respectively, with Policastro and Suarez running the show. “I can’t be everywhere at once,” Policastro said.
After GQ picked them as one of the best pizza joints in America, followed by features on MSNBC and Yahoo, business took off. Policastro is very passionate about Tomato Pie Pizza Joint’s pizza and will put its Grandma pizza against any other slice in the country, confident that it will be the best. That’s when Policastro and Suarez were able to circle back to Woodland Hills, where they first set their eyes on a location they loved. They saw it was vacant and they immediately jumped on the 4902 Topanga Canyon Blvd location. “We take it as an opportunity really,” Suarez said about COVID allowing them to grab their dream spot.
Policastro also said that the partners feel very grateful, since 65 percent of Tomato Pie Pizza Joint’s business comes from delivery and pickup, allowing them to stay in business. After spending over a million dollars renovating their South Pasadena location, Policastro and Suarez are happy to have found a place that “had all the bones.” The two of them are excited for Tomato Pie Pizza Joint’s opening sometime between mid-November to December.
(Edited to correct restaurant name and correct spelling of Suarez)
