Salvatore's Tomato Pies

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Revision as of 13:52, 21 October 2026 by Jacques (talk | contribs) (Add the early Madison and Sun Prairie years, and correct the Sun Prairie move to November 2016 (2015–2019 research))

Salvatore's Tomato Pies (often shortened to Sal's), is a pizza place with several Madison-area locations, the first of which was located in a Sun Prairie strip mall, later moving to downtown Sun Prairie in November 2016[1].

Early years in Madison and Sun Prairie

The Madison store opened in early December 2014 at 912 E. Johnson St., in the old Supreme Pizza spot that had just housed Madtown Pizza — a small room with a two-seat bar, eight tables and chef Carlos Nava, where waiting customers were sent next door to the Johnson Public House coffee shop. The reviews led with the Trenton, New Jersey-style tomato pies, made from a family recipe owner Patrick DePula put at about 100 years old[2][3].

In 2015 Salvatore's scrapped a planned Verona restaurant to concentrate on Sun Prairie[4], and began making its own sausage together with Ian's Pizza — about 400 pounds a week, from Uphoff kurobota pork[5]. In December 2015 DePula bought the three-story brick building at 121 E. Main St., and hired John Jerabek and Beth Pieters[6]. The Sun Prairie restaurant appeared on the Big Ten Network's "Campus Eats" in October 2016[7].

The move down Main Street came on November 27, 2016: a soft opening Saturday night, official opening Sunday, in a 3,000-square-foot space three times the size of the original, in a 116-year-old building that had held the Mexican restaurant La Tolteca[1]. An early-2017 remodel added a full bar; the new menu came from DePula with Jerabek, chef Bethany Pieters and sous chefs David Rocha and Danielle Broge[8][9]. From 2018 the East Johnson Street store had an exclusive delivery arrangement with EatStreet; "If you're a pizza place, people assume you're doing delivery," its general manager said[10].

In the Sun Prairie gas explosion of July 10, 2018, which destroyed buildings across the street and killed Fire Capt. Cory Barr, the restaurant was damaged and closed; it reopened August 1, helped by about $11,000 in crowdfunding, and its staff catered Barr's funeral[11][12].

DarkHorse

The third Sal's location, sometimes called DarkHorse by Sal's over the space previously occupied by Sujeo until 2019. This location features an expanded menu with a section changing with seasons. The name comes from a time when a restaurant critic referred to DePula as a "dark horse" due his talent despite any formal culinary training[13].

The pandemic

DarkHorse by Sal's opened on February 18, 2020, with a pizza bar its owner called the "pizza confessional"[14]. A month later the COVID-19 shutdown closed every dining room, and Salvatore's went to carryout and delivery, with a $12 16-inch one-topping "community response pizza" for the duration of the emergency[15]. A Monona store opened on June 9, 2020, for carryout and delivery only. The same month DePula and his partners, chef Jed Spink and John Jerabek, renamed DarkHorse as a Salvatore's, his fourth: "comfort food is what people are looking for"[16]. At the end of 2020 the Livingston Street dining room was open at 25% of capacity, but sales were still 30% below 2019[17].

The Monona store became the company's headquarters, with a commissary kitchen where Salvatore's developed frozen pizzas[18][19]. In 2022 DePula refused to let Grubhub list his menus without permission; on the app a $22 pizza cost $38[20].

Johnson Street

The Johnson Street store, at 912 E. Johnson St., was too small for safe dine-in in 2020 and sold carryout and delivery only[16]. It closed for the winter on January 3, 2021, "to remodel and refresh", and its work moved to Livingston Street; it was expected back in October 2021[18]. A later account says it closed in August 2021, reopened for about nine months in 2022, and then closed again[21]. It was still advertised in May 2023, when Salvatore's had four locations: Sun Prairie, Madison East (Johnson Street), Monona, and 10 N. Livingston St.[22] By June 2024 the space was to become Molten Monkey Pizza[21]. In October 2024 Salvatore's had stores in Monona, Sun Prairie and Madison[23].

The DarkHorse closed its dining room after four weeks, when COVID arrived in March 2020, and became a Salvatore's[21].

Trivia

  • Each football season brings a Packers pizza: the Lambeaughini in 2023, with "over-the-top pepperoni", and the Lombardi in 2024, with cheese curds, jalapeños, pepperoni and hot honey. Playoff opponents get pizzas too; a Bears pizza had hot dogs[23].

Locations

  • 503 West Main St., Sun Prairie (2011 to November 2016)[1]. Before Salvatore's, the storefront had been Pietro's Pizza around 1999; after it, briefly Gotham Provisions, then Meze Mediterranean from November 2018[24].
  • 121 East Main St., Sun Prairie (November 27, 2016, to present)[1].
  • 912 East Johnson St. (Dec. 2014 to between May 2023 and June 2024; closed for a time in 2021–22)[22][21].
  • 5507 Monona Dr. (June 9, 2020-present)[16][18]. The State Journal gave the address as 5511 Monona Drive[25].
  • 10 N. Livingston St., Ste. 101 (Feb 18, 2020-present)[26].

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Kalk Derby, S. (2016, November 27). "New Salvatore's Tomato Pies opens Sunday night in Sun Prairie." madison.com.
  2. ↑ Christians, L. (2015, January 12). "Restaurant review: Salvatore's brings bold, creative pizzas (and tacos!) to East Johnson Street." madison.com.
  3. ↑ Kalk Derby, S. (2015, January 15). "Restaurant review: Salvatore's makes foray into Madison, followers rejoice." madison.com.
  4. ↑ Christians, L. (2015, July 23). "Salvatore's scraps Verona spot, looks to expand in Sun Prairie." madison.com.
  5. ↑ Christians, L. (2015, July 16). "Ian's Pizza and Sal's Tomato Pies team up to make their own sausage." madison.com.
  6. ↑ Kalk Derby, S. (2015, December 15). "Restaurant News: Salvatore's Tomato Pies in Sun Prairie moving to bigger digs." madison.com.
  7. ↑ Kalk Derby, S. (2016, October 10). "Restaurant News: Salvatore's Tomato Pies to reach a national TV audience Tuesday." madison.com.
  8. ↑ Christians, L. (2017, January 25). "Hearty entrees move Sal's ahead in Sun Prairie." The Capital Times. p. O31. Newspapers.com image 516780718.
  9. ↑ (2017, March 1). Follow-up review of the remodeled Salvatore's in Sun Prairie. The Capital Times. p. O30. Newspapers.com image 516784762.
  10. ↑ (2018, September 26). Delivery-app story: Salvatore's East Johnson exclusive with EatStreet. The Capital Times. p. O26. Newspapers.com image 508042493.
  11. ↑ (2018, July 18). Sun Prairie explosion: destroyed buildings included Glass Nickel Pizza. The Capital Times. p. O12. Newspapers.com image 508043704.
  12. ↑ Christians, L. (2018, August 8). "After disaster: When a restaurant suffers a catastrophe, the road to recovery is complicated and public." madison.com.
  13. ↑ Kalk Derby, S. (Nov. 18, 2019). “DarkHorse by Sal's taking over former Sujeo space.” Wisconsin State Journal. 33.
  14. ↑ Kalk Derby, S. (2020, February 18). "DarkHorse by Sal's opens Tuesday with glam, rock n' roll look." madison.com.
  15. ↑ Kalk Derby, S. (2020, March 19). "How customers can help Madison's restaurant scene survive amid COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic." madison.com.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Christians, L. (2020, June 21). "Coming at you like a . . . Salvatore's: DarkHorse restaurant changes name." madison.com.
  17. ↑ Kalk Derby, S. (2020, December 3). "Curbside review: 2 people, 2 top dishes of the year at Salvatore's on Livingston." madison.com.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Christians, L. (2021, August 30). "Salvatore's Tomato Pies swims through the pandemic, picking up speed." madison.com.
  19. ↑ Kalk Derby, S. (2021, August 20). "Dark Horse rides again: New gallery and music space taking shape in former Star Bar." madison.com.
  20. ↑ Kalk Derby, S. (2022, February 8). "Solving third-party delivery problems with sights set on Uber Eats, Grubhub and DoorDash." madison.com.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 Kalk Derby, S. (2024, June 25). "Ale Asylum co-founder opening Detroit-style pizza place on Madison's Near East Side." madison.com.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 (2023, May 24). Salvatore's Tomato Pies advertisement, "4 locations to serve", and Madison Burger Week entry "The McTwist Pizza". The Capital Times. p. O42. Newspapers.com image 964131219.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Kalk Derby, S. (2024, October 15). "Salvatore's backs the Packers with Lombardi pizza." madison.com.
  24. ↑ (2019, May 8). Meze Mediterranean review: 503 W. Main St. was Pietro's Pizza, then Salvatore's. The Capital Times. p. O22. Newspapers.com image 561853204.
  25. ↑ Kalk Derby, S. (2020, March 3). "Salvatore's Tomato Pies to open in former Pizza Oven in Monona." madison.com.
  26. ↑ (2023, May 10). Salvatore's Tomato Pies Mother's Day brunch advertisement: 10 N. Livingston St., Ste. 101, and 121 E. Main St., Sun Prairie. The Capital Times. p. O31. Newspapers.com image 958700830.
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