Michael Pitera knows good pizza. Originally from Brooklyn and raised on Long Island, he began working in his friend’s family’s pizzeria when he was 15 years old. He worked his way up from dishwasher and eventually made his way into the kitchen slinging hand-tossed pies in the classic tradition. Later, during his college years, Pitera would return from upstate New York back to Long Island and work at the pizzeria over the summers.
While he studied business in college, he always had a passion for cooking and even attended Johnson & Whales in Rhode Island for a spell. Then in 2021, Pitera took a sales job which brought him to Charleston. There was a lot to like about the Lowcountry: the weather, the beaches, the boats, and the friendly people. Also, Pitera’s parents were living relatively close by in Murrell’s Inlet. His girlfriend came down with him and life was good. But there was one thing he really missed from back home — authentic New York-style pizza. So, Pitera decided to shift careers and start a mobile pizzeria here in town with the goal of bringing the authentic New York pizza he grew up with to his new hometown.
With help from his father, Pitera built a custom 8’x16’ food trailer and he and his girlfriend Julie Fox began serving homemade brick oven pizzas at events, local breweries, and various pop-ups. Fox even launched a side gig of selling real New York Italian ice out of the trailer. So Pitera had the pizza business and she had the Italian ice business.
“Slices and Ices is what we were known for,” recalls Pitera, adding that Pizza a Modo Mio’s popularity grew so quickly that he began looking for a brick-and-mortar permanent home for the business. When the former Ladle’s space on Bees Ferry Road opened up, next to Lowe’s Foods, the former businessman in Pitera saw an opportunity.
A TRUE NEW YORK-STYLE PIZZERIA
Striving to create an authentic New York neighborhood joint, back in late February Pitera began offering whole 18-inch pies and pizza by the slice as well as other pizzeria classics like garlic knots, pepperoni rolls, house-made meatballs, zeppole pasta frita (Friday and Saturday only), Italian rainbow cookie cake, fresh cannoli, pasta fagioli, minestrone and, of course, parmesana-style hero sandwiches.
“And they’re heroes, not subs,” says Pitera adamantly with a thick New York accent. For those unfamiliar with the term, a hero is basically a sub, or a grinder, or a hoagie, depending where you are from. If you’re from the Big Apple, it’s a hero. The term was most likely coined by a popular New York newspaper columnist, who in 1936, said the sandwich was so large you needed to be a “hero” to eat it. Pizza a Modo Mio’s hero sandwiches live up to that reputation. True 12 inches, they come with either meatball, chicken, eggplant, sausage, or pepper & onion and loaded with house-made marinara and freshly-grated cheeses. The hero is not the only nod to New York’s newspaper history. The tables in the restaurant have different issues of the New York Times printed on them. But they’re not random, explains Pitera. Each table has a different newspaper cover on it, representing the birthday of various important people in his life. On the walls is a timeline highlighting more significant moments in New York City history.
THE SECRET IS IN THE SAUCE … AND IN THE CRUST
Of course, the pizza is the real star of the show at Pizza A Modo Mio, whether it’s the classic thin, foldable New York-style or the thick-cut Sicilian or the rectangle Grandma Pie. According to Pitera, there are always seven to 10 slice options to choose from, ranging from traditional toppings to barbecue to buffalo chicken and bacon chicken ranch. He says the pie that put them on the map locally was the Hot Roni, which comes with fresh mozzarella, pepperoni cups, and local hot honey infused with red pepper.
Like barbecue or shrimp and grits in the south, pizza is something that can be debated all day long among New Yorkers or even people who visited the Big Apple one time 15 years ago. It’s just one of those things that everyone has an opinion on. But for Pitera, it’s actually pretty simple. Use quality ingredients for a quality product. At Pizza a Modo Mio, Pitera takes pride that almost everything is made in-house, from the sauces to the meats and all the cheeses are freshly grated. One thing that is not made in-house is the dough, which Pitera is unapologetic about. He goes to great lengths (and distance) to have his dough shipped in twice a week from New York. Pitera is both scientific and philosophical about this.
“Sure we can make our own crust and we have. We have tried multiple ways. I even tried using bottled water, but it’s just not the same,” says Pitera. “The water in New York comes from the mountains and there’s a lot of minerals in it that reacts to the live yeast differently.” He also says the humidity in Charleston plays a role in altering the proofing process and the final product.. Pitera believes the end result is worth it.
“I don’t’ think you can find the combination of the cheese, the sauce, and dough anywhere else. Not the style and the way it’s made. They don’t make it like this anywhere else,” he says. Because the dough is shipped in from New York, he says they used to occasionally run out of pizza before the next delivery. But Pitera has since invested in a larger cooler and can store more dough, so it doesn’t happen as frequently.
The other thing that that Pizza a Modo Mio has shipped down from New York is their Italian ice. Homemade and shipped fresh from Staten Island, there are 21 different Italian Ice flavors offered, and Pizza a Modo Mio showcases 16 at any given time. Pitera’s girlfriend Julie Fox, runs the Italian Ice business.
GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY
Pitera says a major part of running a neighborhood pizzeria is giving back to the community that you serve. “That’s how I’m raised. I’m always feeding people and I want to give back to the community that supports me,” he says. Pizza a Modo Mio recently did a fundraising campaign with nearby Drayton Hall Elementary School where $3 from every pizza sold was donated to the school. He also says he plans on sponsoring local youth sports teams and donating to charity events.
Pizza a Modo Mio is open for dine-in or carryout, Tuesday-Saturday 12-8 p.m. It’s located at 3125 Bees Ferry Road. For more information, call (843) 640-3897 or visit www.modomiopizza.com.
