Forno Classico Opens Doors to Pizza Heaven

“I like food,” explains Giuseppe Crisa, founder and owner of the pizza oven company Forno Classico, “and that’s how everything happened.” 

Twelve years ago, and still new to the United States, the Sicilian-born Crisa was living in Summerland and craving a better pizza. So, like his grandfather before him, he decided to build his own oven. “My English was badder than now,” he says, joking, “and nobody wanted to hire me, so I had some time on my hands.”

He’d moved here from Palermo to be near his brother, who owned a plumbing company, but the two couldn’t work together. “We’d fight too much,” explained Crisa, throwing his fists about to prove the point. “We’re Italian family.” So Crisa watched Three’s Company to learn English and built a brick-dome oven. “Overall, I’m an immigrant,” he quipped, “even if I’m good-looking and have a charming accent.”