Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
A fresh Siena pizza is pulled from a wood-fired oven during the grand opening at Capella Pizzeria in Inverness Village. Capella Pizzeria plans to open a second location in Trussville in December.
Trussville is getting a new addition to its restaurant community this year.
Capella Pizzeria, a restaurant offering traditional Neapolitan-style pizzas baked in 900-degree, wood-burning ovens, is opening its second Birmingham-area location in the former location of Ironstone Pizza in Homestead Village.
Owner Ahmet Ozbey opened his first Capella Pizzeria in Greystone in January, and his restaurant has quickly established a loyal following and a solid reputation for its pizza menu.
Ozbey, who immigrated to the U.S. from Turkey in 2016 at the age of 17, learned the restaurant business and the art of Neapolitan-style pizza while working in his uncle’s pizzeria in North Carolina.
His uncle learned his skills after traveling to Italy, bringing the techniques and ingredients back to North Carolina.
“I tried this pizza, the Neapolitan-style pizza, way before, and once I tried,
I said, ‘OK, this is the best I have ever had. I don't think I'll try anything else anymore,’” Ozbey said.
Ozbey grew up in northern Turkey near the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, where he was exposed to the culinary and cultural traditions of countries like Spain, Morocco, France and Greece. However, Capella Pizzeria is a celebration of all things Italiana.
“I lived in the Mediterranean coast part of Turkey, and the people and the culture is very similar to Italy because the weather and climate are similar,” he said.
The restaurant is decked out with the colors of the Italian flag — red, green and white — and posters displaying scenes from Italian cities and coastlines, while jerseys from Italian soccer clubs like Internazionale Milan, Juventus and Napoli, hang from the ceiling.
Each pizza is handmade using ingredients imported from Italy, including Caputo flour, meats like pepperoni and salami and Fresh Italian cheeses such as ricotta and buffalo mozzarella. They are then baked in wood-burning ovens, producing the thin, crispy crust with charred edges that are emblematic of Neapolitan-style pizza.
“These are 100% wood-fired ovens, and they are going up to 900 degrees Fahrenheit,” Ozbey said, while demonstrating the ovens at the restaurant in Greystone. Using a mix of white oak and hickory, the ovens are capable of baking a pizza in a flash.
“It cooks pizza in like 90 seconds. That's what makes it so quick,” he said. “Sometimes people are ordering their pizza, and by the time they are sitting down, their pizza is ready.”
The Capella menu includes pizzas like the Margherita, with tomato sauce, basil and mozzarella; the Siena, with pepperoni, tomato sauce, buffalo mozzarella, basil and garlic; and the Diavola, which features spicy salami, Calabrian pepper, mozzarella and tomato sauce.
Capella also offers delicacies like gelato, hand-made cannoli and other Italian treats. Ozbey has also curated a small collection of Italian wines available by the glass. One brand he highlighted is Milli Gradi — which means “1,000 degrees” in English — that he says are the perfect complement to Capella’s pizzas.
“It’s made for this kind of pizza,” Ozbey said. “My favorite is the Pinot Grigio.”
The Trussville location of Capella Pizzeria is scheduled to open in mid-December in the former location of Ironstone Pizza at 5445 Patrick Way in the Homestead Village shopping center. The original location in Greystone is located at 4700 U.S. 280, Suite 13, and is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Saturday.
Learn more at capellapizzeria.com.
