Pizzeria ready to `smoke' the competition

In less than two weeks, expect a 6,000-pound wood-burning oven to be cooking pizzas at Penn. Pizza Rustica -- Penn's newest pizzeria -- is scheduled to open September 30, on the corner of 36th and Chestnut streets at the location formerly held by Ace-Z 4 Pizza. "Ace-Z 4 Pizza wasn't really catering to the University community," said John Greenwood, a top official for the University's real estate company. Greenwood believes Pizza Rustica will be "wonderful for that corner." According to store owner Rosemarie Certo the 2,465-square-foot pizza shop and bar will be both "high-end and student-friendly." The restaurant -- expected to be open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. -- will serve pizzas, gelato, Italian sandwiches and espresso. All menu items will be available for take-out. Certo believes that Pizza Rustica will cater to people looking for quality food on a student budget. Eight-inch pizzas are expected to cost $4.95 and 16-inch pizzas no more than $11. Sandwiches will run for about $5. "We want to make the menu very accessible to students, pricewise and tastewise," Certo said. Pizza Rustica's L-shaped interior will seat about 70 people, and an outdoor patio will provide an additional 48 seats. Inside, a free-standing bar will offer wines and espresso. "I think this is in keeping with a real European high-end fast food pizzeria," said Certo, who described the environment as "casual and upscale at the same time." Toward the center of Pizza Rustica, a wood-burning stove, valued at more than $18,000, will bake pizzas at about 700 degrees. According to Certo, the oak, walnuts and fruit woods in the wood-burning oven will give the pizzas a "smoky flavor" that gas-fired brick-ovens, which most pizza restaurants use, cannot achieve. In addition to serving traditional pizzas -- American, Mexican and European -- Pizza Rustica will offer more unusual pies, including a breakfast pizza -- served with an egg broken into its center -- and the El Oro, a pizza topped with 24-carat gold flakes. The eatery will offer make-your-own-pizza nights and eventually provide students with pizza-cooking lessons. Amid avant-garde music, a large projecting screen will run Italian and European films and -- added the Sicilian-born restaurateur almost reluctantly -- "some good American movies." Certo acknowledged that the eatery's location was not her first choice, explaining that she would have preferred to be in a more lively area like Sansom Street. But, she said she thinks that Pizza Rustica will help re-vitalize Chestnut Street, which she says "still needs developing." Although the lease was finalized early in the summer, construction was delayed several months due to the rebuilding of some of the ceiling pipes and the process of obtaining a liquor license. "I'm very impatient; that's [an] Italian quality," said Certo, who claims that she would have liked the restaurant to be open as early as June.

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