Pulcinella Pizzeria closes Harmony Road location, flagship Drake shop remains open

Fort Collins' longstanding Pulcinella Pizzeria has officially closed its south location, 2550 E. Harmony Road, after nearly 15 years.

The closure was precipitated by a Feb. 1 flood that left Pulcinella's Harmony Road shop swimming in more than two feet of standing water after its building's fire riser broke, according to the pizzeria's owner, Mary Race.

At the time, the pizzeria was facing damage that would have taken nearly three months to fix, Race estimated. It would also have to replace all of its equipment damaged in the flood, she said.

That, combined with the fact that Pulcinella Pizzeria was nearing the end of its 15-year lease at The Villaggio Shops on Harmony Road, led Race to cut her losses, pay out the rest of the lease around May and focus on Pulcinella's flagship location at 1119 W. Drake Road, she told the Coloradoan Thursday.

"There were a lot of factors that went into (the Harmony Road closure)," Race said, adding that the south location was "always a struggle" due to parking challenges and higher rent compared to its flagship location.

"But I want everybody to know that we’re still going strong," she said. "Pulcinella is not going anywhere."

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Race has been in the Fort Collins restaurant business since 1991, when she and her ex-husband, chef Antonio Race, opened Italian eatery Pulcinella Ristorante at 2100 W. Drake Road. Mary was a 26-year-old travel agent with no previous restaurant experience at the time, she said.

In 1996, the couple opened the first Pulcinella Pizzeria on Drake Road. Later, when they divorced and split their businesses around 2010, Mary took over the operation of three of the couple's Pulcinella Pizzerias, including one in Lafayette and the Harmony Road and Drake Road locations in Fort Collins.

After Antonio's cousin bought out the Lafayette location, Mary said she continued to run the Fort Collins pizzerias, dishing up classic Neapolitan-style pizzas by the pie or slice, calzones, paninis, pasta dishes and more.

Since closing the Harmony Road location, Mary said she's been working to retool Pulcinella Pizzeria's in-house delivery service. The Harmony location had served as a home base for the pizzeria's southern delivery zone. Now, Mary said she hopes to expand the Drake Road shop's delivery zone to better meet the needs of its customers in south and east Fort Collins.

She's also toying with the idea of bringing back wine tastings at the Drake Road shop's wine and beer bar.

After more than 30 years in the Fort Collins restaurant business, Mary, now 60, said she's excited to refocus her energy on Pulcinella Pizzeria's flagship location, which has had a steady presence on Drake Road since 1996.

"Kids who worked for me now bring their high school kids in," Mary said with a laugh.

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This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Fort Collins restaurant Pulcinella Pizzeria shutters Harmony shop