A few weeks ago, a truck crashed into the front of the Palo Mesa Pizza restaurant in the Village of Arroyo Grande. Now, the owner is celebrating a big win.
Michael Stevens said the support he’s received from the community since the crash motivated him to go big at the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas. Stevens placed first in the Italian Classica Division during Tuesday's preliminaries, with what he says is one of his bolder pizzas.
“This is a sandwich that we do regularly on our menu called the Godfather sandwich," Stevens said. "I've been wanting to compete with it in a pizza for years. It's very bold. It has very bold flavors. I just wanted to do something different that would attract the judges."
Stevens said to him, the competition was never just about making pizza.
"The most special part for me is that we're able to represent the Central Coast, and we beat them. We got lucky,” he said.
He added that the win was a team effort, working alongside employees like Charlie Houser.
“It's really more than just a restaurant, more than just selling pizza and moving products," Houser said. "It's really just being part of the community and interacting with customers, making sure it's a good experience overall that we give back to the community.”
Stevens said his showing at the expo isn’t the only good news his family has gotten recently. The Arroyo Grande Palo Mesa location is set to reopen in the next two weeks.
“All the inspections are happening today, tomorrow, the next day," he said. "Drywall this week. Painting this week or next week. Hopefully, next week we can open.”
Until then, their four other locations remain open.
