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Chef Billy Manzo of Federal Hill Pizza

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]In this video, Billy Manzo master Pizza maker explains how he lovingly transformed a former vaudeville theater and movie house into an incredible World Class Pizzeria. Interestingly enough, this was the same movie house, Billy watched movies as a kid. And my mom, who grew up in the Federal Hill Neighborhood in Providence, Rhode Island, watched movies there as well!

The theater was built in 1925 as an original vaudeville movie theater owned by MGM-Mayer. The building went from a vaudeville theater into a movie theater. The building space is 11,000 square feet. A major company purchased the property, hoping to turn the space into a dinner theater. They spent countless money to refurbish the property. Their efforts failed and the building stood empty for 15 years.

Billy and his wife Christine purchased the property and transformed the space into Federal Hill Brick Oven Pizza. The building itself has many memories for the residents of Providence. Billy feels he will never own the building, rather he is a custodian of the building. He tried very hard to keep the integrity of the building intact.

Billy exudes passion and commitment to his craft of making pizza. He is also committed to giving back to his community by sharing the joys of pizza. He is an extraordinary Chef with a lot of heart…

You can discover Federal Hill Pizza in Providence at 1039 Chalkstone Ave. and in Warren Rhode Island at 495 Main street. You can visit online at federal pizza online. Check them out on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Billy is also the founder of Chef’s Feeding Kids The following video, tells his story:[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”2829″ img_size=”medium” title=”Chefs Feeding Kids”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/16OybL27pw4″ title=”Billy Manzo on Federal Hill Pizza”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Federal Hill Pizza

Providence Restaurant

1039 Chalkstone Avenue
Providence, Rhode Island
401-331-3310

Warren Restaurant

495 Main Street
Warren, Rhode Island
401-245-0045[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_images_carousel images=”2827,2830,2829,2824,2831,2828,2192,2826,2825,2191,2190,2189,2188,2187″ img_size=”large” slides_per_view=”2″ autoplay=”yes” title=”Pictures of Federal Hill Pizza”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Inspiration from Billy Manzo, Federal Hill Pizza

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Chef Billy Manzo is an inspirational pizza maker. He takes his craft seriously. He is funny and loves to laugh. He has a unique sense of humor, and he loves making pizza. He believes in using only quality ingredients to make the best possible pizza.

He is also an inspirational story teller. He shared his story during our visit to Federal Hill Pizza in Warren, Rhode Island.

Federal Hill Pizza, Warren Rhode Island

Federal Hill Pizza, Warren Rhode Island

Billy started in the pizza business out of necessity. He owned a Cigar Lounge on Atwells Avenue in Providence for 16 years. Part of of the licensing agreement was that he serve some type of food. He thought about hot dogs and hamburgers, but decided he would do better with pizza. The first day he started he sold 40 pizzas. and thus began his pizza journey! He only did 2 types of pizza, a Margherita and a pepperoni pizza.

The pizzas became a hit. The owner of the Eastside Market in Providence asked if he could sell the pizza dough. He recognized the quality of the pizza dough.  Soon other businesses were asking for some of his dough, so he decided to get in the wholesale pizza dough business. Within 6 months Billy was selling his dough to over 200 retail outlets in the state of Rhode Island and part of Massachusetts.

Chef Billy Manzo

Chef Billy Manzo

After his daughter was born, he decided to go into a different direction and went into the retail side of the pizza business. He opened his shop, Federal Hill Pizza in Warren.

Billy believes the best route to take for any entrepreneur is simplicity. You need to know the simplicity of where your product comes from and where it is going to the end consumer. Simplicity is the philosophy that drives his business. The is why one of the foundations of his pizza is the Margherita.

Pizza at Federal Hill Pizza

Pizza at Federal Hill Pizza

As he explains, “you can’t hide from a Margherita”. It is the foundation of his entire menu. While he offers a number of Italian dishes at his pizzeria, he prefers to stick with the basics.

He was laos forht coming on some tips for the home pizza maker.

  1. Temperature of your oven.
  2. A pizza stone in your oven and
  3. patience.

The patience in working your dough and allowing it to ferment properly is key. You need to let your dough rise for at least 24 hours…

You can watch the entire interview here:

 

 

Please make sure you visit Federal Hill Pizza and discover the magic yourself.

Federal Hill Pizza
495 Main St, Warren, RI 02885
Phone:(401) 245-0045

Thank you Billy, you are truly amazing!