Rocco's Pizza celebrates 10 years in Walnut Creek

We caught up with owner Rocco Biale to congratulate him on his decade-old pizza restaurant—and to ask him about a few tricks of the trade.

At Rocco’s Pizzeria in Walnut Creek, almost anything goes. Owner Rocco Biale is a fan of variety. The interior décor is as varied as the food Rocco’s serves. Step inside and you’ll need more than a minute to take in the vivid walls crowded with posters, Italian proverbs, local soccer team portraits, and crayon drawings form little fans—there’s even a real Vespa scooter hanging from the ceiling. The menu offers a wide range of pizzas, two named after the owner’s sons, pastas, sandwiches, salads, and more. There’s an adjoining sports bar, to boot. Diablo writer Sarah Wetmore caught up with Biale to congratulate him on Rocco’s 10th Anniversary and get the dish on this local success story.

What is your background in the food industry?

Rocco Biale: It’s really all I’ve ever done. My family owned bars and restaurants, here in parts of the Bay Area and in Hawaii and I’ve been in it since a teen.

What inspired you to open a pizza restaurant?

I had been working in various pizza places throughout the years, and my uncle in Hawaii had a string of very successful Italian restaurants, so I just sort of combined working in pizza restaurants with my uncle’s Italian restaurant and I was working 60, 70 hours a week for somebody else, I decided to do it for myself.

When did Rocco’s open?

I opened up October 1999.

How much time do you spend in Rocco’s?

I’m probably here about 80 hours a week.

And you designed the mural in your restaurant and dedicated it to European immigrants.

I had the brief design, per say. The artist, Manuel Cruz, took over. I gave him a theme and a theory and what I was looking for. And then he took it from there. So I was involved in the original concept. And then he put the finishing touches on it.

What was your original concept?

Well my dad’s an immigrant. He was born in Italy and left there as a very young, at a very young age, and we have a lot of close family ties, specifically to Italy. I just have a lot of respect for the European immigrants that came here from the late 1800s to the early 1900s to sort of develop the fabric of this country.

Which is your favorite pizza on the menu?

I’m a little partial to the two pizzas named after my sons—the Dominator, after my son, Dominic, is real hearty and meaty. And the Dante’s Inferno is more vegetarian, a little lighter. And that’s after my older son, Dante. So, I lean to the two house favorites.

Do your sons each particularly like those styles of pizzas?

Yeah, yeah, they’re partial to them. They eat anything that’s on the menu, but they eat the pizza named after them as much or as often as any other.

How do you come up with new recipes?

 A lot of traveling. I just got back from Italy. Sort of inspired by trips to Europe and I read a lot of trade periodicals. I try to keep up with the new menu trends. I read a lot of trade industry magazines. Once or twice a year, we fine-tune the menu based on customer feedback and research.

What’s the most interesting pizza discovery you’ve made? What’s your favorite recipe you’ve come up with?

One of the most interesting pizza discoveries might be #18, and it’s #18 for a reason. Pizza, legend has it, was first started in Naples, in Italy. The first pizzeria believe it or not, is actually still in existence since 1830, so it’s coming up on 200 years. They only serve one kind of pizza there. It’s very plain, it’s very simple. Thin crust, buffalo mozzarella cheese, a little bit of tomato sauce and some basil. And I was inspired by that story and just that this pizzeria’s been in existence in the same location for 200 years. They just make one kind of pizza and just one size. And we do our best to pay tribute to that by calling the pizza Via Portalva. And Via Portalva is the street in Naples that this pizzeria is on, so that pizza has a little story behind it. It’s sort of a tribute to the first pizzeria.
 
Where else does your family like to go out to eat?

That’s a good question. We had a real favorite spot and we like Mexican food, so we’ll go to La Piñata in Concord, as often as any place. And my uncle has a restaurant in San Francisco called Marcello’s, so we’ll go there if we’re going into San Francisco.


What are your plans for Rocco’s’ future?

Although I’m far from retirement, I’d like ultimately to step away or step back, If one of my kids doesn’t take over, that it’s left in the hands with somebody who has as much passion for the restaurant business as I do. Ultimately I would like to see the restaurant live a long, healthy life after I’ve done my time.

What does the 10th anniversary mean to you?

Most restaurants go out of business. Ninety percent of restaurants nationwide go out of business in one year and 50% of the 10% that make it go out of business in the second year, so by staying open for 10 years tells me that we’ve passed the test of time. The 10th anniversary means we’ve got a great staff here. Many of them have been with me since the day I opened and they’re still with me, which is very rare in the restaurant business. We’ve been very well supported by the community here in a neighborhood environment in a shopping center, and in turn, we’ve supported them back. It’s a tribute to our hard working staff and the support of the community. Just hoping for another great 10 years, let’s leave it at that.

Rocco’s Pizzeria, 2909 Ygnacio Valley Rd, Walnut Creek, (925) 947-6105. For more information, visit roccospizzeria.com.
 

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