Mister O1 Extraordinary Pizza is helmed by Renato Viola, a pizza chef who hails from Southern Italy. Viola believes in doing one thing really well, and for him that's the pizza he serves in his small, upcale pizza brand.
Mister O1 Extraordinary Pizza is a chef-driven concept with a simple recipe for success. It's built on quality and consistency — and founder Renato Viola wouldn't have it any other way.
Raised in Southern Italy, Viola was apprenticing with the pizzaiolos of Italy by the tender age of 11. After being awarded for his dishes in Europe, Viola settled in Miami Beach and built Mister O1 eight years ago, where extraordinary food comes first.
Viola originally called his pizzeria Visa O1, but it seemed the Visa credit card company had a problem with the name by the time the brand opened its second unit (it's actually named after the government card he used to work in the country) and so he changed the name to Mister O1.
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Chef Renato Viola. Provided. |
Names aside, there are now 12 full-service pizzerias between Florida and Texas, two in Madrid and one in Saudi Arabia.
"We are focused 90% on pizza," Viola said in a phone interview, adding that they have fresh appetizers like burrata, fresh mozzarella and prosciutto and salads. "Really, we are the old-style pizzeria that you can find on the street in Italy focused 100% of pizza. We don't have pasta, we don't have desserts except Nutella pizzas, we don't have main courses. We are absolutely focused in pizza."
And that focus also means everything is fresh. There's no freezer and everything is made in the old way, without frying to be healthier for the guests, Viola added.
When asked why Mister O1 hasn't forayed into wings, sandwiches and other items found on modern pizzeria menus, Viola said he believes he is a good pizza chef and can be different, but if he needed to serve pasta, he could only be a good pasta chef to four to 10 people. He's a pizzaiolo through and through.
"There, I believe I'm very good," he said. "I can be different. Do one (thing), but do (it) the best."
The menu
The star-shaped Star Luca is a top seller. The pizza is filled with ricotta cheese and topped with Italian tomato sauce, mozzarella, spicy salami Calabrese and fresh basil.
Ingredients include coffee, fresh burrata Stracciatella, Peruvian anchovies, salame Calabrese, speck, roasted corn, organic ginger and white truffle oil.
"I grew up with my mindset to be different," Viola explained. "To be traditional — I come from South Italy where we are very traditional — but I like our (food) to be a little but out of the box because why not? Some people like pizza with pineapple. Why not? If people today are ready to try something new — thanks to social media (it is) helping people to experiment — why not? If you're ready to try a new pizza, order the pizza. If you don't like the pizza, send it back. I'm going to make you another one. But give it a shot to try something different."
Viola believes pizza is an experience. Yes, it starts with good food, but it also includes the right service, location, music and even parking. "All this together gives me the opportunity to provide an experience to our guests that is unique," he added. "Why not do something traditional, but also different."
Dough is made fresh every day and the brand coordinates with a family farm in Miami to make the burrata. The maturation for the dough is a minimum of 96 hours. They try to work with local vendors and those from Italy as much as possible.
To maintain continuity across the brand, Mister O1 uses a central kitchen concept, where the dough is made fresh. There are two – a small one in Dallas and another in Miami that supplies to Florida.
They also invest in a strong training program. "We like to give ourselves a lot of support," Viola said.
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The pizza is baked in an electric deck oven at more than 600 degrees for a thin and crispy dough.
When asked what sets Mister O1 apart, Viola said he doesn't believe in competition.
"I believe in good pizza," he said. "I believe the more good pizza we have, the more good guests we're going to have."
Mister O1 has delivery and makes up a good 40% of business. The brand collaborates with UberEats.
Franchising
Three years ago, Viola and his business partner decided to grow the business outside of Miami via franchising. To be successful, they believe, it's just not about the product. It's also the right person at the right time in the right position to open a unit.
"The right person is going to hire the right coworkers," Viola said. "The experience is not just the pizza. It's not just about the interior design. It's not just about the music. Altogether today it makes the difference."
There are three franchising groups expanding the business outside of Miami, where the flagship unit is located. Five units are corporate owned and the rest are franchised.
The farther away the units get, the more the brand wants owner-operators working on site.
"I don't believe in people that just (buy to) make an investment," Viola said. "Hospitality is a lifestyle. You have to like what you're doing because it's a different lifestyle."
Mister O1 just opened a location in Fort Lauderdale and plans to relocate one in Miami. Another unit will open in Bay Harbor in Miami in February and a second Dallas Mister O1 is slated to open by the end of March. The brand will expand to Orlando by June and South Naples, Florida, by late summer.
Renato said they believe that pizza is a neighborhood business, so they look for affordable spots in nice areas. With the internet and word of mouth, the restaurants don't have to be in the most expensive locations to succeed. Many restaurants rely on the internet versus street visibility.
Eight years ago, the first Mister O1 opened in an office building without signage. It's there today.
"Still every day we make 400 pizzas. We have a one-hour wait at least. We don't have signage or visibility on the street," Viola said. "It's a real, 100% destination. … We are that famous hidden place. People were talking about us but couldn't find us. It's still very cool."
