“PEACE IN THE WORLD? IT’S PIZZA“

Raised among flour, Michele Iuliano is the owner of Luzzo’s pizzerias in New York. With his hands always in pizza dough, he has achieved his Italian dream in America.

A perfectly appropriate background noise during a telephone conversation with Michele Iuliano is the noise of dishes. While speaking with him about his Italian roots, his coming to America and his boundless love for work and cooking, the constant, though not vexing, sound of clattering dishes punctuate his words. If anything, the noise outlines Michael’s character, a tireless worker who has invested his ideas, his passion for food and his savings to get where he is today - owner of seven pizzeria/ restaurants in New York.

He left Italy for the Big Apple in 2001 and in three years made his way up through the ranks of the restaurant world.

He considers himself the perfect embodiment of the American Dream: In America he found his future without forgetting his roots, the Italian traditions of which he became an ambassador. These are best represented in the kitchens of his restaurants. Michele Iuliano does not like to delegate, so every morning he’s the first to arrive and last to leave. He does it out of a sense of responsibility and not of a need for control. Michele never gives up. Life has taught him that giving way to fear does not help. He has been through hard times, both professional and personal. Struggles that could easily weaken ones resolve and question one’s optimism. Yet Michele Iuliano did not stop. He considered the setbacks just detours or as part of his path, from which he walked out of with the same , if not greater, resolve. Like a modern phoenix, Michele, supported by his family that became his business team, drew strength from life’s adversities. Today he dreams of delivering his pizza all over the United States, on a road show that boosts the Italian cultural brand: Made in Italy. Pizza for him is the dish that unites, thus “peace in the world”, and gave him a different life from the one he imagined.

When you left Italy to go to America you weren’t a restaurateur, you had a different job. Did your passion for food and understanding of it win out?

Yes, when I was in Italy, my job was completely different. I was in the insurance field, a job that had little to do with creativity. But I lived in a family where the kitchen was the center of everything. My mother was a baker and she raised me amid flour, recipes and good food. When I arrived in the United States, I realized that I had to start from the basics, the flour, at the bottom. I started by being a dishwasher, then a waiter and then a cook. I struggled and worked so hard. It was the only way to live as a migrant in a foreign land. Struggling allowed me to put aside a little savings to open my first restaurant. I felt my moment had arrived.

After only 3 years you opened your first Neapolitan

Michele Iuliano dreams of delivering his pizza all over the United States, on a road show that boosts the Italian cultural brand: Made in Italy.

pizzeria in New York City: “Luzzo” on First Avenue in the East Village. What did this step mean for you?

Yes, it was my moment, but what enormous fear I had inside of me! I had too much passion for food to let fear of failure stop me... and so I gave it my all and keep on doing what I still do best: working, working with feeling and commitment. I invested the only savings I had because it was the best chance I had to make it in NY.

After the pizzeria you created an entire group. How do the various restaurants you chose to open differ?

Every restaurant has an identity that reflects the area in which it is born.

New York has so many forms of expression, every street has a different lifestyle and I liked that and brought that influence into each eatery. “Luzzo” is welcoming and a little more rustic, “West Pizzoteca by Luzzo”, in the heart of Chelsea, has an atmosphere inspired by the artists of that neighborhood. In the same neighborhood we opened “Via Trenta Pizzoteca”, a post-modern style bar that offers our customers a pizza or a sandwich in an informal way. “Da Mikele” in Tribeca, is a chic place with particular attention to interior design. “Gnoccheria” instead is the restaurant of both tradition and innovation.

Gnocchi is the most requested dish after pizza, and is offered in many combinations. Recently “Luzzo’s Pizza” opened in Long Island City, contemporary in style but always closely tied to the traditions of cooking. And then there is the “Ampia” project, in the Financial District, with a rooftop for events and a beer garden. Each restaurant has an identity but they all share a great energy and quality ingredients made exclusively in Italy. The same principle applies to the food carts we have in Manhattan and Brooklyn. They are an option that we like and that we use for events of all sizes, from two thousand to twenty thousand people.

“When I arrived in the United States, I realized that I had to start from the basics, the flour, at the bottom. Each restaurant has a unique identity, but they all share a great energy and quality ingredients made exclusively in Italy.”

You consider yourself the embodiment of the American dream. As an Italian what do you dream of?

It’s true, I’m the American dream (laughs). I left with loads of wishes and with hard work, sacrifice, and passion, I managed to make my way. But I am very attached to my country and looking at it from here, I dream of a better Italy, a less bureaucratic country, willing to grant opportunities without tying you to a yoke. I love Italy and for this reason I would like to see it grow as it should. After the American dream, this is my Italian dream.

What should we never forget about Italians and what should we learn from the Americans?

We Italians have traditions, culture, quality. These are priceless and must never be forgotten and must always be promoted with energy and passion. We must constantly value the priceless resources we enjoy, which is something we can learn from the Americans, along with respect for work.

To make your dreams come true you need commitment. This may be the reason that after opening all these locations, I still believe I have more to learn. You have to get your hands dirty. Mine are never flourless.