Mountain View: Pizza champ TonyG will debut new restaurant, plus ‘Apricot Fields’ slices

The Slice House from the Bay Area’s pizza king, Tony Gemignani, will make its debut in Silicon Valley on Saturday, and the award-winning master pizzaiolo will be there to greet guests

This is his first Santa Clara County restaurant and one of his first franchise operations.

The eatery is located at the Village at San Antonio center. Like his other locations, this one will offer a fast-casual setting where customers can buy the artisanal New York, Detroit, Sicilian and Grandma style pizzas by the slice or whole pie. Pasta, salads, wings, meatballs, local microbrews and natural wine round out the offerings.

Franchisee Pritika Rajasanshi’s love of apricots and spice and the region’s orchard history inspired an exclusive pizza (slices only) for this location. Called Apricot Fields, the pizza is topped with Italian sausage, applewood-smoked bacon, mozzarella and ricotta cheeses, Blenheim Apricot Hot Honey Jam, red onion, Tony’s Hot Pepper Oil, pesto, Romano cheese, oregano and garlic oil.

“Tony and I went to high school together (Washington High School in Fremont),” Rajasanshi said in announcing the grand opening, “so to be opening a Slice House location in the Bay Area and working closely with the pizza legend himself, is truly full circle.”

The restaurant opens at 11 a.m. Saturday, with the first 50 people in line receiving Slice House-branded merchandise (hats or dog bowls). From 2 to 4 p.m., Gemignani will welcome guests and sign copies of his cookbooks, “The Pizza Bible” and “The Pursuit of Pizza: Recipes from World Pizza Champions.”

This Slice House offers indoor seating for 34 and outdoor for 15.

Fremont native Gemignani, who mastered his pizza-tossing skills at Pyzano’s in Castro Valley, holds 13 world pizza champion titles. He launched the Slice Houses in San Francisco in 2010 and now owns 11 pizzerias in the Bay Area, Sacramento, Southern California, Las Vegas and beyond. This will be No. 12. And more franchises are coming to California and several other states.

He also owns Tony’s of North Beach, Tony’s Pizza Napoletana, Capo’s, Tony’s Coal-Fired Pizza and Pizza Rock.

Details: Open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. at 2565 California St., Suite 501; https://slicehouse.com