The wait is over for Johnny Brusco’s New York Style Pizza, which opened its doors to the public at 1491 W. Nine Mile Road on Dec. 8, serving its specialty pizza, perfected since 1977.
The “neighborhood pizzeria” catchphrase tied to Johnny Brusco’s was partly what drew Pensacola franchisee Stephen Long to introduce the company to the Panhandle, as he saw how community-mindedness was truly built into the restaurant’s business model.
With 101 indoor seats and an outdoor patio offering about 24 more, customers can now grab a beer, catch a sporting event and share an affordable meal with their family.
“It’s a place where families come, have a good time and enjoy themselves,” Long said. “That’s more of what I’m about than trying to make a buck.”
Johnny Brusco’s first came to Long’s radar when his son worked for the brand in Atlanta, Georgia, for several years, and his family often visited and shared meals.
In addition to the specialty pizzas built into the restaurant’s name, with dough made fresh daily in-store, they also offer a variety of Italian dinners, oven-baked subs and wraps, specialty calzones and strombolis and wings that all have the same high quality as the pizzas.
The open-concept kitchen reveals the chefs of Johnny Brusco’s hard at work, loading pies into the brick oven, drizzling balsamic glaze over Johnny’s bruschetta, and pouring little cups of “love” (the heavenly cheese/herb marinara mix served alongside the garlic knots).
You don’t have to order an entire specialty pizza to have it made fresh, but all slices are made fresh to order, too, which can be customized with your toppings of choice, ranging from sun-dried tomatoes to steak.
While Johnny Brusco’s is a franchise, the menu can vary by franchisee, and there are a few items that Long added specifically for the area, from the creamy Calabrian spaghetti added for the Pensacola location to the Blue Angelrita on the specialty cocktail menu.
Stop and smell the brick-oven pizza at Johnny Brusco’s in Pensacola
In addition to the specialty pizzas built into the restaurant’s name, with dough made fresh daily in-store, they offer a variety of Italian dinners.
While there’s plenty to try on the menu, Long has a few suggestions on where to start:
Johnny’s Deluxe: Sausage, onions, mushrooms, green peppers, beef, Canadian bacon and pepperoni.Hot Honey Hawaiian: Jalapenos, pineapple, bacon, pepperoni and drizzled with Mike’s Hot Honey.Margherita: Light sauce topped with diced tomatoes, fresh basil and fresh mozzarella.Creamy Calabrian Spaghetti: An alfredo and pesto mixed sauce tossed with spaghetti noodles, sliced Calabrian peppers and choice of crispy bacon, crumbled Italian sausage or grilled chicken.Blue Angelrita: Tequila, coconut rum, blue curacao, grenadine, lime juice and lemonade.
Johnny Brusco’s is now open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday through Thursday and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
When was Johnny Brusco’s founded?
Johnny Brusco’s got its humble start as Johnny’s in Manlius, New York, where 16-year-old Bruce Jackson, who would later go on to become the president of the company, started working.
Jackson went on to open his own location off the Syracuse University campus with his younger brother, eventually bringing business partner Scott Allen into the fold, who now serves as the company’s vice president.
Together, they built the brand, beginning to franchise their locations in 1994, and now have 64 locations between Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee, including just one other pizzeria within the Sunshine State.
Johnny Brusco’s has 50 locations across Georgia and four across Alabama, in comparison.
In 2003, they gave the brand a more distinctive name to enter the national level as Johnny Brusco’s, while still operating under the philosophy of being a neighborhood pizzeria.
Is there a Johnny Brusco’s near me?
The Pensacola location of Johnny Brusco’s will bridge a gap for the franchise, as the closest locations were previously in Auburn and Jasper, Alabama.
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Dining and Cooking