Yahoo News Inside the Salford pizzeria bringing a slice of Napoli that people are queuing down the street for
In the southern Italian city of Naples it's winding lanes and tiny streets are lined with thousands of pizzerias. It is after all the birthplace of pizza.
It's pizzas chefs, or Pizzaiolo, as they're known, are treated like celebrities, and it is said that Italian fathers either want their sons to play for SSC Napoli or become a pizza chef. In essence, pizza in this part of the world, is very serious business.
And though tourists and locals are spoilt for choice, only the very best can show off their official certification by the Associzione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN), a body that protects and ensures that the art of pizza-making is maintained, and that the ingredients used are in accordance with tradition.
Usually, a special sign hanging above the door is the way to separate the wheat from the chaffe, but an indicator we're also familiar with back home is a long and winding queue. And, if there's locals willing to pitch up outside one of these establishment for hours on end, you know you're onto a winner.
A man who knows the power of the queue is Francesco Fumo, who at 22-years-old is the proud of owner of two Salford businesses - and it just so happens that they're only a five minute walk from one another.
Francesco and his parents, Conni and Davide live in Gorton, though the pair moved over from "the heart of Napoli" 20 years ago. In 2022, after working in engineering, their son decided to make the family's dream of opening a restaurant a reality, launching Conni's Focacceria, a bakery and deli on Blackfriars Road.
It's become well known for its authentic Neapolitan Focaccia breads, fresh cheeses, sweet cannoli and range of Italian deli goods, with traditional brands spanning Yoga and Mulino Bianco lining the shelves alongside SSC Napoli memorabilia. With momentum behind them, and less than two years after launching, Francesco decided to open a pizzeria to 'redefine' Manchester's pizza scene, just down the road.
A lofty ambition for sure given the city's strong pizza game. Across Greater Manchester, there's plenty of pizzerias doing Naples proud with both classic takes and riffs on tradition - from Rudy's and Honest Crust, to PizzAmmore Napoli and L'Antica Pizzeria Da Michele - but when you meet the Fumo's, you know they're the real deal.
It's a crowded restaurant space, but one that Francesco, his brother Lieno and the rest of his family are happy to be a part of. For starters, they've already ticked one crucial box - they're treated like celebrities on Blackfriars Road.
You would be lucky to speak to them for more than 30 seconds outside the Focacceria before someone interrupts. Often or not its a friend, family member of customer popping over to see them in action, a sense of warm, Italian hospitality imbued within every interaction.
“We might be new to this but we treat everyone with respect and joy, and I think that’s why we’re popular," explains Francesco outside his family's new pizza spot.
"If you treat me good, I treat you good, that’s the rule of life. Then there’s the Neapolitan charm and of course, mamma’s food - the perfect combination.
"Before I started this I was a mechanical engineer and then I just changed everything. I wanted to pursue my mum and dad’s original dream from a decade ago of opening by their own wood-fired pizzeria, but a family member got cancer, and at 12 and 15 my brother and I couldn't exactly run the show.
“Then I thought well I have this money saved here, it’s not a lot but why not. So we started with the Focacceria, and honestly at first it was terrible, you should have seen when we opened, there were trays everywhere, it was shocking but slowly we got there and then we went massive on social media.”
There's no doubt that there's a lot of graft going on behind the scenes here, but look around the deli and the new pizzeria and you'll soon spot a reoccurring theme. Walk down Via San Gregorio, a picturesque valley in Naples and you'll come across red plastic or porcelain chillies in a range of sizes that people gift one another as a sign of good luck.
As Francesco explains, you're not meant to buy them yourself, but accept them as a gift. A large chilli has nabbed a spot on the counter of the Focacceria, while at the new site, they're dotted around the room, as the family try to ward of any chance of bad luck.
They're joined by posters of Francesco's football team, SSC Napoli, paintings of sun-drenched Italy and rows of San Marzano Tomato - just some of the many authentic Italian ingredients being used to make their pizzas.
Francesco's pizza chef is also from the "heart of Naples" as he would say, in this case from Rione Sanita, an area peppered with small streets and quaint trattorias. And only the best produce is being used to create a menu encompassing the ‘world’s spiciest pizza’, as well as budget-friendly crowd pleasers, like Margherita (£8.50), Marinara (£6.50) and the white based Salsiccia e Friarielli (£10.95).
"A lot of chefs go to the bigger companies like Rudy’s and places like that rather than those that aren't established. However, he liked what we were doing and he believed in us and he makes some of the best pizza in Manchester.
Attention turns to the pizza oven, which as Francesco proudly states, is basically the 'Bugatti of ovens', though his mum reckons it cost too much. "This pizza oven is as big as my house, I tell you what it cost £25,000, it is a very, very good oven.
"In terms of wood-fired ovens, they’re banning them in Napoli and they don’t get approved so they’re doing electric ovens instead and they’re taking off in Napoli, so if they use them it’s good enough for us."
As well as a curated menu of pizzas including classics but also new takes such as the Alla Romana (£12.90) - an ode to the carbonara with crispy guanciale - and UE' (£10.95) featuring 'mamma's' ragu sauce with handmade meatballs topped with burrata and pecorino, there's an array of homemade desserts in the cabinet including tiramisu, almond cake, Torte Della Nonna and his mum's pastiera of puff pastry filled with cream cheese, barley and candied fruit.
Alongside pizza, the new restaurant aims to be popular with wine enthusiasts by boasting a wide range of Italian wines that aim to complement each of its dishes. They'll also be serving up Birra Antoniana by the bottle and Crodino spritz, a non-alcoholic aperitif that can also be topped up with Prosecco should you fancy it."
“This expansion is not just about growing our beloved brand; it's a tribute to the rich, culinary traditions of Napoli, brought to life right here in Manchester. Our mission is to create a space where the authentic flavours of Neapolitan cuisine are accessible to everyone, from the fiery zest of our spiciest pizza to the classic simplicity of our Margherita."
You won't find the new pizzeria open on Sundays though on account of some much-needed family time, as the Fumo's uphold their tradition of a big family meal. "My dad insists that the whole family is around the table.
"It does not matter what you have on, you could be the busiest man in the world and Sunday you have to be sat down. I would be a kid and wanting to play out with friends and he would say ‘I don’t care, you’re sitting around the table with us’. It would start at 2 and you finish at 8 or 9pm.
“Really, my mum has been running a restaurant low-key at home for all these years cooking for all of us, so the new spot is a continuation of that."
The new Conni’s Pizzeria is now open in the Artifex building on Blackfriars Street in Salford. The restaurant is open from 1-9pm daily, with walk-ins available as well as takeaway.
