Bake-At-Home Pizza and Pasta Shop Offers Fresh Twist on Takeout

Aptly tailored for these stay-at-home times, American Pizza Mfg. debuts on La Jolla Boulevard today offering a spin on takeout that’s aiming to combine ready-made convenience with a restaurant-style dining experience. With no dine-in service, its 1,700-square-foot space is essentially a dedicated kitchen with a roll-up window for cashless pickup.

Founded by local entrepreneur Andrew Melone, its menu is based on take-and-bake pizzas made better, using housemade sauce and premium ingredients for 12-inch or 14-inch pies like The Harley, which features Italian sausage, caramelized onion, asiago cheese and fresh sage, and The Edsel, topped with garlic olive oil, roasted red peppers, pine nuts, baby arugula, wild mushrooms, and micro greens.

Custom pizzas can be assembled on regular, gluten-free, and cauliflower crusts, and there’s even a DIY mini pizza kit for kids. Other bake-it-yourself dishes include a classic lasagna made with fresh pasta and bolognese sauce and a breadcrumb-topped mac and cheese oozy with gruyere and sharp cheddar. The menu also features a range of salads and treats ranging from a 10-inch ready-to-bake giant chocolate chip cookie to pints of ice cream from JoJo’s Creamery in Encinitas.

Open for takeout from 3 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, American Pizza Mfg. accepts orders by phone, online, or in-person and is working on a one-touch signature app. Also in the works is delivery to the surrounding La Jolla area, via a 1964 Ford truck that’s been outfitted with a Tesla powertrain.

James Tran

James Tran

James Tran