At the request of many of my customers we have added a wide selection of stuffed pizzas. It takes a little longer to make (35 to 40 minutes) but you can enjoy many other specialties in our menu while you wait. We now also offer four sauce choices for your pizza: red pizza sauce, home made pesto, BBQ and our home roasted garlic butter sauce.

A lot of people ask me how I ended up serving the finest pizza in Flagstaff. I am a pilot by trade, and I am originally from Spain contrary to the assumption that I am from Italy. Somehow the avatars of life brought to Flagstaff and into the restaurant business. When I was little my uncle, whom used to travel the world in his freight ship, was a self appointed pizza pundit. He would grab by my shoulders and yell at me with a thick sailor's voice; "Leo, the best pizza in the world is not in Italy but in New york, and the serve huge slices too". That is probably my earliest childhood memory. When I learned the Roma Pizza previous owners wanted out it brought a smile to my face and I decided to buy right there and them. I did not do any research or homework, for which I would later pay dearly. I just wanted to run my own authentic New York style pizzeria.

The first few years were very difficult, my brother moved from New York to run the restaurant for me. Had it not been for him I would not  have made it. I was still working full time as a pilot and trying to run the restaurant. Little by little things got better, over a few years we doubled the sales for the original store on Milton and now we have recently opened a new store on Route 66 (3504 East Route 66, Park Santa Fe Shopping Center).

The restaurant business is arguably the hardest endeavor you get involved in, but it certainly is the most rewarding. I have made countless friends and met people from the most remote parts of the world.

The History of Pizza

In the 19th century Queen Margherita visited her dominions in southern Italy, where she observed the peasants eating a round shaped bread called "pizza" topped with olive oil and other spices. She loved this flat bread to the point of commanding a local chef to bake specialty pizzas for her delight. The chef presented the queen with a pizza containing tomatoes, mozarella cheese and basil, coincidentally representing the colors of the Italian flag. The Margherita Pizza became the most popular Italian food.

After World War II, GIs returning from Italy and the massive influx of Italian immigrants brought the pizza to America. Americans fell in love with pizza, making it one of the most popular foods in the world. Each American metropolis created it's own characteristic pizza, New York becoming the pizza capitol of the world.

Roma Pizza brought real hand-tossed pizza to Flagstaff thirty years ago and tothis day has kept the tradition intact. We hope you enjoy this delicious tradition as much as we do!

~Leo Ruiz

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