Some people covet fancy cars. Others may collect guitars.
Steve Cucinella has a thing for pizza ovens.
In March of 2023, he came across a used American Range Stone Bake pizza oven that looked as good as new.
It would have cost $35,000 new, Cucinella said. He paid $10,000 for it.
The only problem was he had no place to put it. Though he has worked in the bakery and restaurant business most of his 63 years, he didn’t have a restaurant at the time of the purchase.
The pizza oven ended up in his garage.
A couple of weeks later, a friend told him he had a restaurant space in a strip mall that was about to become available. Cucinella could have it if he wanted. It needed some work – exhaust hood repairs, thorough cleaning, some paint and a couple of other equipment fixes.
On July 5, Cucinella and his wife, Denise, opened Cucinella’s Brick Oven Pizza at 8116 Old Kings Road S. in the Brierwood area of South Jacksonville.
The build-out costs were about $75,000 for the 2,100-square-foot space, he said. It seats 34.
This is the latest in a line of pizza shops that have been part of his family trade.
His great-uncle John Veltre opened the family’s first in Rochester, New York, in 1932. Veltre had emigrated from Naples, Italy. He learned the craft from a bakery in Rochester.
The menu at Veltre Bakery was simple. It consisted of breads, rolls, some desserts and what were known then as tomato pies. Tomato pies were dough covered with tomato sauce and a light dusting of Romano or Parmesan cheese. There were no toppings like pepperoni, sausage, anchovies or pineapple.
As was the custom, every family member learned to bake and worked in the bakery. Cucinella’s father later became a high school teacher and coach. He moved his family to St. Augustine in 1977.
They opened The Bread Shoppe there on Anastasia Boulevard. It made bread products, pastries and salads and served pizzas whole and by the slice.
It proved to be a successful business. After outgrowing the space, however, it closed it in 1992 and the family moved it to Duval County, where they opened The Bread Shop, changing the spelling.
The store was in the Shoppes of Northshore in Atlantic Beach from 1992-95 and then moved to 11th Avenue North and North Third Street in Jacksonville Beach. He sold the business in 1998.
Veltre Bakery closed in 2000. By then Cucinella and his brothers had moved from Rochester.
Brother Jamie has four pizza shops in South Carolina, North Carolina and Florida and plans to open a fifth in the Orlando area this year. Brother Paul had three shops, sold two, and operates one in Georgia.
Cucinella’s is opening with just one employee. Hours are 4-9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday and 4-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. It is closed on Sunday.
After Labor Day, he plans to open at noon and offer lunch.
Everything on the menu is made from scratch. The can opener is only used for the canned tomatoes, he said.
Rather than specializing in one style of pizza, Cucinella does several. He serves New York thin style as well as a Sicilian thick crust. He sells whole pies or by the slice. He features garlic knots, hot subs, meat and vegetable lasagnas, cheese manicotti, salads and a dessert of the day. They are expecting their beer and wine license in the coming weeks.
For now, 90% of the business is takeout. The neighborhood is starting to discover them, Cucinella said.
“We are hoping to get it to 50-50 in time. It’s typical to start heavy on takeout. They don’t try all of the menu items right away. We hope to get them on the second time around,” he said.
Cucinella sees takeout and inside dining as two businesses in the same store.
“This is the first one we’re trying to get going,” he said, pointing to the kitchen and pizza station.
“When this one starts to work and we get on a roll we’ll start concentrating on this side,” he said of the dining area.
The area is catching on. They have had some catering orders. Word-of-mouth is the best advertising, Cucinella said.
He recalled an older man from New York coming in just after they opened.
“There are purists who will order just a cheese pizza or maybe pepperoni to see if you’re making it right. He comes in and says, ‘Just give me a cheese pizza. That’s all I need to tell if you’re a good pizza maker.’ The guy came back and said, ‘You’re a good pizza maker.’”