Chef Bianco made good on his promise to open a pizzeria in L.A.: 'I want it to feel sincere'

Twenty minutes before his third pizzeria was set to make its soft opening in downtown Los Angeles and hot off his second James Beard Award win, chef and owner Chris Bianco appeared to be pacing inside his restaurant.

It didn’t take long for crowds to start lining up at Pizzeria Bianco’s counter for New York-style slices from this outpost of one of Arizona’s most famous restaurants. As people patiently waited under the afternoon sun, Bianco occasionally tore himself away from his pizza-making to thank customers and personally serve them their freshly made slices.

”We appreciate it so much,” he told the first people in line. “The first day of hopefully the rest of our lives.”

During what Bianco later called a "surreal" and "crazy" day, the restaurant soft opened for counter service on June 16 at Row DTLA, a mixed-use space in downtown Los Angeles that is home to Michelin-starred Japanese restaurant Hayato and the weekly open-air food market Smorgasburg.

The opening comes days after Bianco earned national recognition as the 2022 James Beard Foundation Outstanding Restaurateur on June 13. The Foundation previously named him the best chef in the Southwest in 2003.

For now, the restaurant will offer lunch only, with dinner service is planned to begin later this summer.

"We still have a lot of work to do before we fully open," Bianco told The Arizona Republic after the restaurant finished its first lunch service. "But just having some people in the room and seeing a kind of life force come in, it was pretty special, for sure."

Did celebrities convince Bianco to open in Los Angeles?

When asked whether he'd felt pressure over the years to open a Los Angeles pizzeria, Bianco was reluctant to admit to the demand for his food.

“I don’t know if it was pressure, but I would say it was…" he paused, before changing his mind. "OK, it was probably some pressure.”

Bianco's creations are beloved by several celebrities, including Jimmy Kimmel, who shared his excitement for Pizzeria Bianco opening closer to home.

"Not just one of the great chefs, one of the kindest, most generous and hardest-working people in the world," Kimmel wrote in a June 13 post congratulating Bianco on his James Beard recognition. "I cannot wait for the new restaurant at @rowdtla."

Kimmel's support goes beyond an Instagram post. Above the room that houses Bianco's wood-fired stove is a neon pizza sign, which was a gift from the late-night show host.

"He gave me that years back, actually. And I've been saving it for something special," Bianco told The Republic. "He's a super dear friend. Just one of the kindest people on the planet."

While this isn't Bianco's first time in the LA market, a Pizzeria Bianco expansion is something he has teased for years.

"LA has so much great pizza already; it doesn’t need us, but personally I needed this," Bianco wrote in a June 16 Instagram post. "I and our team promise to do all we can to make sure it does not suck, and hopefully it becomes as special as I believe it can be."

Why opening in Los Angeles is a big deal

This isn't Bianco's first foray into Southern California.

"A stone's throw" away from the new Pizzeria Bianco is the space where Bianco had opened Tartine Bianco and Alameda Supper Club — a collaboration with San Francisco’s Tartine Bakery — several years ago. It didn't work “for a few different reasons" and closed after a year.

"I think one of the reasons was because it was not what people expected. It was a big project and it was great and everything in its own way, but it wasn’t really what people wanted," Bianco said.

His takeaway from that project was that it is important to understand people's expectations. At Tartine, the menu subverted some customers' expectations by serving flatbread instead of Bianco's famous pies.

"This is my first time out of the state that I ever did a Pizzeria Bianco. It's not because I like hearing my name or putting my name on the building. But I think it provides a source of clarity," he said.

Pizzeria Bianco was slated to move into Tartine's former space, but that plan never came to fruition. So, why did Bianco choose to try again at Row DTLA?

"I always thought if I found the right space, I'd be open to it. I wasn't looking for this space, to be honest," he said. "I just turned 60 years old this year. And I wanted to do a restaurant with the same ethos and the same intention.

"I felt that I was in a time in my life that, you know, I don't know anymore. Like, every day is presumptuous, or tomorrow's presumptuous," he added. "I think that I wanted to do one thing that was recognizable to my past work."

As for what this means for the place where his empire was born, Bianco — who lives with his family in the Los Angeles area for part of the year — had this to say: "Arizona is always my home."

What it’s like inside Pizzeria Bianco DTLA

The Pizzeria Bianco in downtown Los Angeles might look familiar for those that have been to the downtown Phoenix location. This was intentional.

Housed in an adaptive reuse of a former coffee roaster and café, the pizzeria is modeled after the Heritage Square space, Bianco said. Diners can watch their pizzas being made in the wood-burning oven through a large glass window at the back of the restaurant.

Like Bianco's other restaurants, his late father's still life paintings hang on the wall in an otherwise minimalist space.

"My dad passed away earlier this year, and it’s great to have his life’s work hanging around. It makes it feel, definitely, like home," he said.

"I just want it to feel imperfect, and I want it to feel sincere. I want you to feel like it was connected to something else. If it looks like Town and Country. If it looks like Pane (Bianco) or if it looks like my bar or if it looks like my pizzeria, that's no coincidence."

The restaurant’s New York-style pizzas, which are available for takeout, are made in an electric oven near the counter.

At Row DTLA’s Pizzeria Bianco, there are:

• Six seats at the bar, which serves the full menu.

• High-top table that offers communal seating for 14 people.

• 80 seats: 40 inside, where there are tables and booths, and 40 on the patio.

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What to know before you go to Pizzeria Bianco DTLA

Currently, Pizzeria Bianco is only serving counter service for lunch during its soft opening. Hours, which are subject to change, are 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday; check @pizzeriabianco on Instagram for the most up-to-date hours and opening information.

The Counter’s menu will feature a selection of house-baked focaccia bread sandwiches, salads and New York-style pizza by the slice. Orders can be enjoyed on-site or for takeout. The current menu can be found at pizzeriabianco.com/los-angeles.

According to a press release, when the restaurant fully opens “the menu of Pizzeria Bianco DTLA will largely mirror the Phoenix locations and feature the six signature pies regulars have come to love such as the Rosa and Sonny Boy. Small plates, sandwiches, salads and sides will round out the offerings and a focused list of food-friendly wines and beers will complement the menu.”

Later this summer, the restaurant will start dinner service from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays and 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Bianco’s signature wood-fired pies will be served when the dinner service commences.

"Dinner service will be opening in mid-July, when hopefully we are a well olive oiled machine by then, with servers and stone and flatware and candlelight and our original six pizzas that we have been doing for longer than I would like to admit," Bianco wrote in his June 16 Instagram post marking the restaurant's soft opening.

Reservations will only be available for dinner through pizzeriabianco.com and OpenTable. Bar seating for 20 people — at the bar and the high-top table — will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

Row DTLA offers two hours of free self-parking.

Pizzeria Bianco DTLA

Details: 1320 E. Seventh St., #100, Los Angeles. 213-372-5155, pizzeriabianco.com.

Reach Entertainment Reporter KiMi Robinson at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @kimirobin and Instagram @ReporterKiMi.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: A look at Pizzeria Bianco's first California restaurant at Row DTLA