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When Santi Sarrica moved to Lafayette from New York earlier this year, he decided to share his Italian upbringing with his new neighbors by making and selling pizzas from his Broadmoor home.
Now, after selling more than 5,000 pizzas in about six months, he and his wife, Gina, have opened a food truck, Sarrica’s Italian Pizza.
“We started from home, and we were making some experiments and seeing how people would respond to it,” Santi Sarrica said. “And after somebody posted us in the Foodies of Lafayette group, there was like an explosion. And we couldn’t be more grateful.”
A pepperoni pizza is seen fresh from the oven on Wednesday, November 8, 2023, at Sarrica’s Italian Pizza food truck in Lafayette.
The Sarricas went from making fewer than five pizzas per week to making up to 66 pizzas per day as word spread of the Neapolitan pizza fired up in a suburban backyard. The Louisiana Health Department soon got word of the operation, and the Sarricas expedited their plans to open a location that met the state’s kitchen and business licensing requirements.
Sarrica’s Italian Pizza had a soft launch on Saturday at 5910 Johnston St. The food truck will continue to operate sporadically until a grand opening later this month.
Ruby Aguillon serves two hot pizzas to customer Amy Oser on Wednesday, November 8, 2023, at Sarrica’s Italian Pizza food truck in Lafayette.
Santi Sarrica was born and raised in Palermo, the capital of the Italian island of Sicily. He moved to New York City about 10 years ago.
“I had this American dream, which I didn’t know then was what it was, but I knew that I wanted to come here and build a better future for me, for my future kids, for my family,” Santi Sarrica said. “And pizza’s always been part of our family heritage. It’s more than just pizza for us. It’s our way of spreading love and sending a message and giving an experience.”
Santi and Gina Sarrica worked as servers and bartenders in New York. Like her husband, Gina Sarrica had moved to America from Colombia in search of opportunity. It was love at first sight, Santi Sarrica says. The couple — now with a six-month-old daughter, Esmerelda — decided to make Lafayette their home while visiting Gina Sarrica’s father, who owns an auto shop and used car dealership in the city.
“We came visiting, and we fell in love with this place,” Santi Sarrica said. “We wanted to build a family here.”
The Sarricas, from left, Esmeralda, six months, Santi, and Gina, are pictured on Wednesday, November 8, 2023, at Sarrica’s Italian Pizza food truck in Lafayette.
Santi Sarrica uses his Sicilian grandmother’s marinara recipe for many of his pizzas. Although she is no longer alive, he sometimes wonders what she would think about the success he’s had making pizzas with her sauce as the base.
“She would be so happy,” he said. “She loved me so much. We had an amazing relationship. She would be amazed, very emotional, I’m sure. It would have been so good to have her here.”
While many of the pies pay tribute to Santi Sarrica’s heritage, others are more innovative. Gina Sarrica is often the creative force behind the less traditional pizzas.
The food truck menu is different from the one the Sarricas offered through their home business. More traditional options include Santi Sarrica’s favorite, the marinara — with San Marzano tomato sauce, sliced garlic, oregano, fresh basil, olive oil and parmesan — and the margherita — with San Marzano sauce, mozzarella, fior di latte, olive oil, fresh basil and oregano.
More creative options include a fan favorite from the home business, the Etna — with San Marzano sauce, mozzarella, spicy Italian sausage, mushrooms, caramelized onions, jalapeno, spicy olive oil, oregano and fresh basil — and the Esmerelda, named for their daughter — with mozzarella cheese, arugula, apple, pecans, feta cheese, balsamic glaze and honey.
“It has been hard work,” Gina Sarrica said. “We take our time every time we make a new creation. We do a bunch of trials with different ingredients just to have that balance in the pizza. We want every ingredient to work together to have that harmony in the mouth.”
Santi and Gina Sarrica prepare pizzas during a busy lunch on Wednesday, November 8, 2023, at Sarrica’s Italian Pizza food truck in Lafayette.
Sourcing ingredients in Lafayette has also been more challenging than it was in New York. Many of their items are imported from Italy.
“Of course it’s more expensive, but we don’t care,” Gina Sarrica said. “Because we wanted quality, all of our mozzarella, pistachio, prosciutto is all imported from Italy. The sauce is from the San Marzano tomato, which is the best in Italy —”
“She keeps saying the best in Italy when it’s really the best in the world,” Santi Sarrica said.
Customers peruse the menu on Wednesday, November 8, 2023, at Sarrica’s Italian Pizza food truck in Lafayette.
As is tradition in Italy, the Sarricas don’t sell by the pie instead of by the slice. They hope to one day open a physical location that would be “not like a regular pizzeria,” Gina Sarrica said, that would offer a unique customer experience.
“This community has shown us a lot of love and support,” Santi Sarrica said. “But we know there’s a lot of people that need some of the basic things and a lot of homeless people, a lot of elderly people living alone, a lot of animals that need a sanctuary to be protected. We’d like to start something for the future generation, for my daughter’s generation.”
The Campagnola, consisting of pesto, mozzarella, parmesan, bacon, artichoke, oregano, basil and olive oil, is shown on Wednesday, November 8, 2023, at Sarrica’s Italian Pizza food truck in Lafayette.
d out more about Sarrica’s hours of operation and daily locations by visiting the SarricasItalianPizza page on Facebook.
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