Local pizzamaker shines under the bright lights of Vegas at International Pizza Expo
by Lorne Chambers | Editor
What a year it has been for Pizza A Modo Mio owner Michael Pitera. In February of 2023, he officially opened the doors to his popular West Ashley spot after grinding it out in the back of a food truck in the Charleston heat for years. Since then, the Bees Ferry Road pizza joint has become a popular destination for those seeking true New York-style pizza in the Lowcountry. That would have been enough for most people for their first year in business, but not for Pitera.
Just over a month ago, Pitera opened a second location down the road in the small town of Hollywood, in what is considered “rural West Ashley,” the southernmost part of Charleston County. The new Pizza A Modo Mio & Café is a slightly different concept, part pizzeria, part coffee/breakfast spot, part specialty food market, and part neighborhood entertainment hub. Since officially opening its doors, the place has already become a go-to for locals and those from out of town visiting Edisto Island.
“Everyone is going to Mt. Pleasant, North Charleston, or Summerville, but I wanted to come out here,” says Pitera, who is originally from Brooklyn and began working in pizzerias when he was just 15 years old while living in Long Island. “The [Hollywood] community has been awesome. They love it. They are so excited we’re here. This was needed.”
The new location is convenient in that it’s only about a 20-minute drive from Pitera’s West Ashley home, yet is far enough away from his West Ashley restaurant that it won’t cannibalize his business there. He says it was never part of his plan to open a second location this quickly, but when the former Hollywood Pizza space became available, he felt it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. The stand-alone building along S.C. Hwy. 162 offers loads more room to do different things, including a huge garden out back where Pitera sources ingredients for his pizza, indoor and outdoor spaces for live, acoustic music, a large kitchen where everything is baked in house (except for the bagels, which are shipped in fresh from the Bronx and the iconic black-and-white cookies, which come from the same purveyor as the legendary Katz Deli on New York’s Lower East Side.
On the retail side, Pizza A Modo Mio & Café has fresh pasta and sauces, cheeses, and other specialty food items, including local honey from Little Wing Honey and Lowcountry Olive Oil, whose owner is Pitera’s neighbor in West Ashley. The coffee, which is also available by the bag, is roasted specifically for them by Charleston Coffee Exchange, whose shop is in West Ashley next to Pizza A Modo Mio’s original location. Additionally, the café also offers small gifts from Pluff Mud Mercantile, which is also located in West Ashley, as well as handmade jewelry by one of the restaurant’s employees.
Pitera says with the Hollywood space, he envisioned what is sometimes called an “Italian Pork Store” in New York, where you might have hanging salami, meat-breads, cheeses, and other specialty items but can also get a great sandwich. And since Pitera is known for his pizza, it was only natural to also offer pizza. For now, Pizza A Modo Mio & Café opens at 6 a.m. (Tuesday-Sunday) to serve breakfast and coffee. Then, at 2 p.m., it closes for a couple of hours and reopens at 4 p.m. (Tuesday-Saturday) and serves pizza, salads, and heroes (which is what New Yorkers call subs). According to Pitera, there are plans to offer a monthly movie night and periodic cornhole tournaments out in back of the restaurant. Currently, there is music bingo and trivia on Tuesday evenings. Pitera says he also plans to apply for a beer and wine license soon. The building already has a bar that opens to a courtyard out back, where there are several tables.
Hollywood residents are just finding out what many in West Ashley have already known for a long time, Pizza A Modo Mio has some of the best pizza in Charleston. And now, it’s not an exaggeration to say, that Pitera makes some of the best pizza in the world.
Last month he and his general manager, Pete Carbonaro, attended the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas, which is kind of like the Super Bowl for pizzamakers. Pitera and Carbonaro competed in several categories including fastest stretch, largest stretch, fastest box folding, Best Cheese, and Best Pan Pizza. Carbonaro, who has been working in the pizza industry for more than two decades handled the pan pizza category, coming in 22nd out of 100. Pitera took on the classic cheese pizza.
“You’re cooking in front of like 200 people, there’s a camera in your face,” Pitera recalls about the experience. “But once I started making the pizza, I wasn’t nervous. I was just doing what I do.” The pizza was judged in a blind taste test on five categories — quality of the crust, overall appearance, flavor, dough structure, and the cook. Pitera ended up coming in 6th place, just .07 of a point away from 5th place, which would have advanced him to the playoff. Now Pitera can legitimately say that he has the sixth-best cheese pizza in the world, having competed against pizzamakers from around the globe.
“I beat some world champions, so it was really rewarding. It’s a confidence booster,” says Pitera, who plans to do it again next year. “I want to be the best I can.”
More than anything, Pitera says the experience was really encouraging. “There’s a lot of successful pizzamakers out there who started the way I started with one shop. They went through the same problems and same struggles that I have, and they overcame them. So that is really motivating.”
Pizza A Modo Mio is located at 3125 Bees Ferry Road. Pizza A Modo Mio & Café is located at 6231 SC-162, Hollywood. For more information, call (843) 640-3897 or visit www.modomiopizza.com.
