One of my favorite places in Memphis to get a slice of pizza is a little slice of heaven called Little Italy. It is located in a shopping center next to the Kimbrough tower...an award winning, art deco apartment building built in the 1920's on the corner of Union Avenue and Kimbrough St. As you can tell from the picture of the restaurant, the strip center was also built in the same art deco style. (The building is an architectural award winner, and the restaurant is a consistent winner of the "Best Pizza in Memphis" in the local newspaper.) Little Italy is located at 1495 Union Ave. when you want to visit this place...and you will want to visit this place. Go ahead and put it in your GPS now, just in case you forget! You will thank me for making you do this now.
Many people say the restaurant has the feel of a Brooklyn pizza joint. Well that would be an apt observation as the owner, Giovanni Caravello is originally from Sicily. He moved to Brooklyn when he was young and married woman there whose family lived here in Memphis. They decided to move to Memphis and start Little Italy. When I asked him why he moved, his answer was a devil may care "Why Not?!" Brooklyn's loss is most definitely Memphis' gain. We are fortunate he decided to bless us with his talents.
I like to eat and am also kind of chatty (which drives my son crazy sometimes.) With that being said, I often speak with owners of restaurants and am friendly with several. Giovanni is one of the nicest people I have ever met. He always makes sure that everyone has a great meal. I have a friend who called for a delivery just after the restaurant had closed one Saturday night. Giovanni was still in the restaurant cleaning up for the night, when the call came in. He not only took the call, but he re-opened the kitchen (after cleaning it for the night) made a pizza, and then personally delivered it to my friend. When my friend realized what happened, Giovanni had made a customer for life that night. That sounds exactly like the Giovanni I know. He is an incredible guy who makes an incredible pizza!
Little Italy doesn't only make a mean pizza, they have a full menu which includes stromboli, calzone, pasta, and subs. I have had the calzone and stromboli, which were both pitch perfect. FYI, the gravy for the pastas is made from scratch daily...I would expect nothing less! But I will admit, I am a creature of habit and I typically go for a quick slice though. He also sells my favorite dessert...tiramisu. It is so good I sometimes forego the pizza all together and go to just to pick up a tiramisu. Man, my mouth is watering just thinking about that tiramisu.
The restaurant recently expanded into the bay next to the original restaurant. So now there is a proper dining area with bench seating and TVs to get your Italian Soccer/Football fix. They built a bar in that area as well, so hopefully we can go get a cocktail along with our pizza sometime soon. That is a coming attraction that I hope I don't have to wait on for too long! They already sell beer, so they have you covered here, but they are wanting to expand it into a full bar.
So, if you want to eat some amazing authentic Italian food, stop by Giovanni's place on 1495 Union Ave. They are open 11 am - 9 pm during the week, 'til 10 pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and Sundays 12 pm - 9 pm.
If you want to work for one of the nicest guys in Memphis, stop in and drop off an application. I know he is hiring. I think I might just do that so I can learn how he makes that pizza crust so perfectly!
Be sure to check out the pizza related T-shirts on our website. Where else can you get a retro style pizza T-shirt? Or a Pineapple is My Favorite Pizza Topping T-shirt? Answer...Nowhere!
