Salvatore's Tomato Pies

From Madison Pizza Wiki

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].

Sun Prairie, 2011–2014

Salvatore's opened in early October 2011 in a small storefront at 503 W. Main St., Sun Prairie, with Patrick DePula and chef Drew Griffin as co-owners. The tomato pies of Trenton, New Jersey, were built bottom-up: crust, olive oil, cheese, toppings, then a swirl of sauce, on dough fermented for three days and baked in a 650-degree brick oven; there was one size, 16 inches. A liquor license came about a month after the opening, and lunch service began on January 3, 2012[2][3].

The State Journal's first review, in July 2012, listed the suppliers: meats from the Underground Food Collective, vegetables from Harmony Valley, Hook's and Farmer John's cheeses, and flour from Lonesome Stone Milling in Lone Rock. The fig and bacon pizza cost $22[4]. In a Capital Times poll of November 2013 that pizza took 20% of 2,716 votes, second to Glass Nickel's Fetalicious[5][6]. Chef Tory Miller of L'Etoile cooked a guest pizza there in April 2014 for a school garden[7].

In August 2014 DePula announced two more restaurants: the 900 block of East Johnson Street, taking over Madtown Pizza, and then a 3,000-square-foot flagship with a full bar on the Hyatt parcel along Highway 151 in Verona[8]. East Johnson Street was rebuilt that year, and one of the new sidewalk bump-outs for cafe seating was in front of the coming pizzeria[9].

Madison, from December 2014

The Madison store opened quietly on Thursday, December 4, 2014, after planned dates in October and November slipped because the floors needed more work; the next day there was a 90-minute wait before the telephone number had even been published[10]. It was 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[11][12].

In 2015 Salvatore's scrapped a planned Verona restaurant to concentrate on Sun Prairie[13], and began making its own sausage together with Ian's Pizza — about 400 pounds a week, from Uphoff kurobota pork[14]. In December 2015 DePula bought the three-story brick building at 121 E. Main St., and hired John Jerabek and Beth Pieters[15]. The Sun Prairie restaurant appeared on the Big Ten Network's "Campus Eats" in October 2016[16].

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[17][18]. 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[19].

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[20][21].

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[22].

The pandemic

DarkHorse by Sal's opened on February 18, 2020, with a pizza bar its owner called the "pizza confessional"[23]. 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[24]. 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"[25]. At the end of 2020 the Livingston Street dining room was open at 25% of capacity, but sales were still 30% below 2019[26].

The Monona store became the company's headquarters, with a commissary kitchen where Salvatore's developed frozen pizzas[27][28]. In 2022 DePula refused to let Grubhub list his menus without permission; on the app a $22 pizza cost $38[29].

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[25]. 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[27]. A later account says it closed in August 2021, reopened for about nine months in 2022, and then closed again[30]. 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.[31] By June 2024 the space was to become Molten Monkey Pizza[30]. In October 2024 Salvatore's had stores in Monona, Sun Prairie and Madison[32].

The DarkHorse closed its dining room after four weeks, when COVID arrived in March 2020, and became a Salvatore's[30].

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[32].

Locations

  • 503 West Main St., Sun Prairie (early October 2011 to November 2016)[2][1]. Before Salvatore's, the storefront had been Pietro's Pizza around 1999; after it, briefly Gotham Provisions, then Meze Mediterranean from November 2018[33].
  • 121 East Main St., Sun Prairie (November 27, 2016, to present)[1].
  • 912 East Johnson St. (December 4, 2014[10] to between May 2023 and June 2024; closed for a time in 2021–22)[31][30].
  • 5507 Monona Dr. (June 9, 2020-present)[25][27]. The State Journal gave the address as 5511 Monona Drive[34].
  • 10 N. Livingston St., Ste. 101 (Feb 18, 2020-present)[35].

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. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Christians, L. (2011, December 29). "Salvatore's makes pizza from Sun Prairie with love." The Capital Times. p. 6. Newspapers.com image 522469422.
  3. ↑ (2013, March 13). Square card-reader story: Patrick DePula opened his pizza parlor in October 2011. The Capital Times. p. 10. Newspapers.com image 520653639.
  4. ↑ Martell, C. (2012, July 28). "Local toppings take the pie at Salvatore's Tomato Pies." madison.com.
  5. ↑ (2013, November 17). "Poll on Madison area's best pizza launches week's most-read items." madison.com.
  6. ↑ (2013, November 20). Best-pizza poll photo page: Porta Alba's Alpina, Greenbush Bar, Glass Nickel's Fetalicious, Grampa's Barberini, Paisan's Super Hot and Salvatore's Fig and Bacon. The Capital Times. p. 13. Newspapers.com image 520984544.
  7. ↑ (2014, May 21). Madison Area Chefs Network: Tory Miller's guest pizza at Salvatore's in April 2014 raised $400 for a school garden. The Capital Times. p. 20. Newspapers.com image 520728149.
  8. ↑ Christians, L. (2014, August 14). "Salvatore's Tomato Pies finally coming to Madison (and Verona, too)." madison.com.
  9. ↑ Adams, B. (2014, November 9). "A new look and potential for East Johnson Street." madison.com.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Kalk Derby, S. (2014, December 8). "Restaurant News: Salvatore's Tomato Pies 'quiet' Madison opening not so quiet." madison.com.
  11. ↑ Christians, L. (2015, January 12). "Restaurant review: Salvatore's brings bold, creative pizzas (and tacos!) to East Johnson Street." madison.com.
  12. ↑ Kalk Derby, S. (2015, January 15). "Restaurant review: Salvatore's makes foray into Madison, followers rejoice." madison.com.
  13. ↑ Christians, L. (2015, July 23). "Salvatore's scraps Verona spot, looks to expand in Sun Prairie." madison.com.
  14. ↑ Christians, L. (2015, July 16). "Ian's Pizza and Sal's Tomato Pies team up to make their own sausage." madison.com.
  15. ↑ Kalk Derby, S. (2015, December 15). "Restaurant News: Salvatore's Tomato Pies in Sun Prairie moving to bigger digs." madison.com.
  16. ↑ Kalk Derby, S. (2016, October 10). "Restaurant News: Salvatore's Tomato Pies to reach a national TV audience Tuesday." madison.com.
  17. ↑ Christians, L. (2017, January 25). "Hearty entrees move Sal's ahead in Sun Prairie." The Capital Times. p. O31. Newspapers.com image 516780718.
  18. ↑ (2017, March 1). Follow-up review of the remodeled Salvatore's in Sun Prairie. The Capital Times. p. O30. Newspapers.com image 516784762.
  19. ↑ (2018, September 26). Delivery-app story: Salvatore's East Johnson exclusive with EatStreet. The Capital Times. p. O26. Newspapers.com image 508042493.
  20. ↑ (2018, July 18). Sun Prairie explosion: destroyed buildings included Glass Nickel Pizza. The Capital Times. p. O12. Newspapers.com image 508043704.
  21. ↑ Christians, L. (2018, August 8). "After disaster: When a restaurant suffers a catastrophe, the road to recovery is complicated and public." madison.com.
  22. ↑ Kalk Derby, S. (Nov. 18, 2019). “DarkHorse by Sal's taking over former Sujeo space.” Wisconsin State Journal. 33.
  23. ↑ Kalk Derby, S. (2020, February 18). "DarkHorse by Sal's opens Tuesday with glam, rock n' roll look." madison.com.
  24. ↑ Kalk Derby, S. (2020, March 19). "How customers can help Madison's restaurant scene survive amid COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic." madison.com.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 Christians, L. (2020, June 21). "Coming at you like a . . . Salvatore's: DarkHorse restaurant changes name." madison.com.
  26. ↑ Kalk Derby, S. (2020, December 3). "Curbside review: 2 people, 2 top dishes of the year at Salvatore's on Livingston." madison.com.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 Christians, L. (2021, August 30). "Salvatore's Tomato Pies swims through the pandemic, picking up speed." madison.com.
  28. ↑ Kalk Derby, S. (2021, August 20). "Dark Horse rides again: New gallery and music space taking shape in former Star Bar." madison.com.
  29. ↑ Kalk Derby, S. (2022, February 8). "Solving third-party delivery problems with sights set on Uber Eats, Grubhub and DoorDash." madison.com.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 30.3 Kalk Derby, S. (2024, June 25). "Ale Asylum co-founder opening Detroit-style pizza place on Madison's Near East Side." madison.com.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 (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.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Kalk Derby, S. (2024, October 15). "Salvatore's backs the Packers with Lombardi pizza." madison.com.
  33. ↑ (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.
  34. ↑ Kalk Derby, S. (2020, March 3). "Salvatore's Tomato Pies to open in former Pizza Oven in Monona." madison.com.
  35. ↑ (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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