New calzone shop, Mezzo Calzones, opens in Costa Mesa
A new calzone shop, Mezzo Calzones, opened earlier this month in Costa Mesa, making it one of the few Italian eateries in the area focused solely on calzones.
The menu is short and sweet with eight different calzone fillings, various dipping sauce options, salad, wings and the option to get a side of meatballs, pasta salad or garlic knots.
“I loved going to this Italian spot that had calzones, but I was always wishing for more flavors,” co-founder Natalie Burke said. Burke and her husband, John Sanchez, a co-owner, partnered with the Kelektiv Group including coowners Justin Chang, Aaron Cortez and Sharif Juma, to make that happen for Mezzo.
The eatery is a fast-casual, on-the-go type of restaurant.
The logo, branding and marketing of Mezzo was done by Chang, whose background is in branding development for fashion.
“This is actually my first restaurant,” Chang said.
It's no secret the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically changed the way restaurants operated and a calzone is a simple, on-the-go way to enjoy a meal.
The space has 17 seats inside for sit-down guests, but the packaging of the calzone (red, foil-lined sleeve) makes it easy to open up and start chomping for those on the run.
“If the guests dine in, you know we want to check in on them,” Cortez said. “Where a lot of fast-casuals you get the food and that's it. For us it's about the guest experience.”
Cortez runs the day-today operations, ensuring that from ordering to purchasing to that last bite things run smoothly and the customer is happy. He has spent years working in both fast-casual and casual settings, and he wanted to bring a casual feel to Mezzo.
The fillings range from vegetarian to meat lover, with a specialty calzone — Mezzobucco. It's a play on the famous Italian ossobuco (winebraised beef or veal) with an ossobuco stuffing and an au jus (broth) cup on the side for dipping.
“It's ossobuco meets French dip meets calzone,” Burke said.
A combo meal, which includes the calzone, a drink, and choice of a side, ranges from roughly $13 to $15 per person.
Burke has been working in the food industry for more than 25 years and has lived in Fullerton since her teenage years. Her husband has about 35 years of experience in the industry and is also an Orange County native.
Although the couple live in Fullerton, Costa Mesa was a more centralized location to open up shop.
It took four to five months before settling on the Fair Drive location.
“We wanted to spread our wings and try something new. Costa Mesa is an intriguing city,” Burke said. “We've had such a great reception from the community so far.”
The hope for Mezzo, and three other fast-casual brand concepts the group is working on, is to have a few Orange County brick-and-mortar locations in the next few years and then move on to franchising.
It's a dream Burke and her husband have had for a while. In 2015, they opened a deli and bakery concept in Fountain Valley, but the opening was clouded by Burke receiving a cancer diagnosis around the same time. They were offered the chance to franchise, but ultimately decided not to and the deli was closed.
“We love developing new brands and concepts,” Burke said of the new venture. “That's our passion.”
Another passion for Burke is her cake business, Natty B's Cakes and Cupcakes, which she has worked on by herself for the past nine years working with celebrities and in the television industry.
But working alone on cakes that can sometimes take up to 20 hours took its toll and now her focus has shifted to the new shop and upcoming ones.
“For us, we want to do one thing and do it really well instead of having a million items on the menu,” Burke said.
The shop is open until 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
VISIT ❯❯ Mezzo Calzone, 440 Fair Drive #106, Costa Mesa; 657-600-8448, www.mezzocalzones.com