Getting up at 1 a.m. every day to bake was getting old. Especially after 12 years.
Michael Calogerakis, 53, recently sold the Flour Garden Bakery just off Staples Mill Road and is getting ready to fire up pizza ovens in Church Hill at 29th and Broad streets.
Calogerakis bought the former Buff’s Corner restaurant through Bruce Hobart at Sunbelt Business Brokers.
“When I first heard it was for sale, I went to eat there and it was a hole,” Calogerakis said. “But I loved the spot, I loved the neighborhood, it was on a corner. It was a great location.”
But before he can open the new business, called Anthony’s, he needs to fix the place up.
“It didn’t even really have a kitchen,” he said. “I had to buy the hood system, the six-burner [stove], refrigeration. We’ve painted and bought new furniture. And the exhaust system − I’ll tell you, putting an exhaust system in through the ceiling with four apartments overhead in a historic building was not an easy task.”
Calogerakis said Anthony’s should open by the end of June.
Anthony’s will make almost all the components for the pizzas and the pasta sauces from scratch. The bread will be from the Flour Garden. The ravioli, which Calogerakis says is the best he’s ever had, is being shipped from New York.
The pizzas will be priced to compete with the chains, with the baseline around $9. All the pizzas will be Neapolitan-style.
“All of our pizzas are 12-inch pizzas and, because the crust is thin, for one person to eat that, I don’t think that’s a problem,” Calogerakis said.
The restaurant will serve beer and wine but will not serve liquor.
“There just isn’t room for a bar,” he said. “There really wasn’t room for a kitchen but we’ve had to make it work.”
Sweet!
This Area needs another outstanding restaurant! A local pizza place is perfect! So excited to spend time up there!
Sounds wonderful and I can’t wait!
Why don’t you give a local source some business for that ravioli? Try Bombolini’s pasta here in Richmond – Love their ravioli recipe!
Michael is bringing a Chef’s personal commitment to Anthony’s! His handmade breads and pastries from The Flour Garden are the best. His dedication to delivering quality products which he was making for the Country Club of Va, Tobacco Company, The Jefferson Hotel and others will now available to the public on Church Hill. It’s going to be a “pizza haven” worth waiting for. Great location, great landlord, great pies!
Can’t wait to sample some of Michael’s Italian pasta!
I am VERY excited about this place opening. We definitely need some more amazing spots in Church Hill. Very happy about this and can’t wait for it to open.
Saw that another pizza joint is getting ready to open up at the bottom of the Hill at the cold storage building. Four pizza joints within 4 blocks of my house? I can dig it!!
Brett, I think there are more than 4. You have the two new one you mentioned and also Bottom’s Up, Sette, and Pizza Place.