New Restaurant Brings Neapolitan Style to Martinsville

When Lombardi Pizza Company, on Washington Valley Road, opened Friday, any fears co-owners Steve Goldblatt and Peter Lombardi had for their new restaurant's success quickly disappeared.

After all, how many new restaurants open with a Facebook following of more than 900 and long-time customers already at the door?

The brisk business Goldblatt and Lombardi enjoyed over their opening weekend grew from the three years they operated a food service truck—complete with a built-in, wood-fired pizza oven—selling pizza and more to hungry office workers.

But they knew they wanted to open a less mobile establishment (the truck has been semi-retired; only called on for catering jobs), and after more than a year searching for the right spot, are finally able to light the dried wood that cooks their pizza.

"We had a few places lined up in Metuchen, but then the agent we were working with suggested Bridgewater," Goldblatt said. "Before I even got out of my car, Peter ran out and said this is it."

"This" was the former Tropical BBQ space, which was updated and remodeled and enhanced with the installation of a 4,000-pound Mugnaini Pizza Oven, custom made for Lombardi's Pizza.

"We wanted a metal finish, like a gun-metal casing," Goldblatt said.

The oven cooks a pizza in about 90 seconds (check out the video, in which Steve Lombardi prpes and cooks a pizza in a total of five minutes, from rolling the dough to serving the pizza), thanks to the temperatures approaching 1,000 degrees in the dome.

Goldblatt and Lombardi met several years ago when both were working at Nomad Pizza, in Hopewell, and discovered the common goal they shared of running their own business.

And a love of pizza—Lombardi even studied in Naples under Italian master chef Enzio Coccia, giving him the skills needed to manage the pizza oven.

For now, Lombardi Pizza is open from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday. Weekend lunch hours may be coming soon as the business grows.

The menu is includes salads, pizza and two dessert pies— a Nutella pie, made with sliced bananas or strawberries, and a Marscopone pie.

But the pizza—from a simple tomato, basil, pecorino, garlic and olive oil pizza to margherita to the Ellie (spinach, fontina, mozzarella, garlic, parmigiano reggiano and olive oil) and the Daphne (Bufala mozzarella, sungold cherry tomatoes, arugula, garlic, basil, pecorino romano and olive oil)—is what is already drawing nearby Martinsville residents.

Unless it's the aroma of the smoke from the wood-fired oven, burning cherry, apple or oak wood, much of which was purchased locally.