Casa Bianca
Casa Bianca was a family of pizza parlors run by the Elmazi brothers, Efraim "Feme" and Nafi Elmazi, who came to Madison from New York in 1997. The Capital Times' restaurant writer called the original, at 333 N. Bassett St., "one of Madison's best — if not most overlooked — pizza parlors"[1].
History
The brothers opened the Bassett Street restaurant in 1997, "about the same time Sal's Pizzeria opened on State Street". A couple of years later they took over Sal's, called it Casa Bianca, and eventually turned the State Street spot over to Pizza Di Roma. Their father, Sal Elmazi, had come to New York City from Albania in 1969, worked in an Italian restaurant making pizzas, opened his own place in Atlantic City a year later, and later ran Best Italian Pizza at Broadway and Canal streets with his sons[1].
By 2005 each brother ran a Casa Bianca and a Sal's: Feme the downtown pair — Bassett Street and the new Sal's Pizzeria at 15 N. Butler St., opened about October 2005 in the Butler Plaza spot that had been home to three coffee shops in five years — and Nafi the West Side Casa Bianca on Junction Road and a Sal's Pizzeria in Appleton. Sal's offered 10 to 15 lunch slices a day from about 50 kinds of pizza, as at Casa Bianca, with a slice, salad and soda for $5.45[1]. In April 2005 a State Journal columnist counted Casa Bianca among "Madison's best pizzas"[2].
The city's licence lists carried Casa Bianca at 333 N. Bassett St. (Efraim Elmazi) and 515 Junction Rd. (Nafi Elmazi) in May 2005[3]; by May 2007 the Junction Road licence was under Adrian Bajrami[4]. In January 2007 a developer proposed condominiums for the one-acre site near 502 N. Frances St. "that had been home to the Casa Bianca Italian restaurant"[5], and in July 2007 Casa Bianca was among the businesses whose liquor licences had not been renewed[6]. The Butler Street Sal's gave way to Cafe Porta Alba in 2006[7].
Former Locations
- 15 N. Butler St., as Sal's Pizzeria (about October 2005 to 2006).
- 333 N. Bassett St. (1997 to about 2006).
- 515 Junction Rd. (by May 2005 to at least May 2007).
- 313 State St., the former Sal's (about 1999; later Pizza Di Roma).
See also
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Kalk Derby, S. (2005, December 15). "Sal's Pizzeria helps a family tradition grow." madison.com.
- ↑ Kalk Derby, S. (2005, April 14). "Ian's Pizza brings its slices to upper State Street." madison.com.
- ↑ (2005, May 23). City of Madison licence renewal list, May 2005 (continued): Casa Bianca, Pizza Pit, Pizzeria Uno, Glass Nickel, Pizza Di Roma, Urban Pizza Cafe. The Capital Times. p. 5. Newspapers.com image 525987738.
- ↑ (2007, May 28). City of Madison licence renewal list, May 2007: Rocky Rococo (8 stores), Cafe Porta Alba, Casa Bianca, Pizza Pit, Urban Pizza Cafe, Pizza Di Roma, Pizza Hut, Unos, Roman Candle. The Capital Times. p. 4. Newspapers.com image 529156052.
- ↑ (2007, January 23). Condo proposal for the one-acre site that had been home to the Casa Bianca Italian restaurant near N. Frances St. The Capital Times. p. 1. Newspapers.com image 522455031.
- ↑ (2007, July 3). Businesses whose liquor licences were not renewed by July 1, 2007, including "Urban Pizza (closed)" and Casa Bianca. The Capital Times. p. 3. Newspapers.com image 522433714.
- ↑ Martell, C. (2006, December 10). "Cafe Porta Alba makes pizza the old-fashioned way." madison.com.
