Matt Vizcaino practically grew up in his parents' pizza parlor, where, as a teenager, he started out busing tables and eventually worked his way up to managing the restaurant.
Now, the 25-year-old Vizcaino has a pizza place of his own.
The younger Vizcaino opened a second location of his parents' Tortugas Homemade Pizza on May 31 near Regions Field in downtown Birmingham.
"It's been a long journey," Vizcaino said in an interview with AL.com. "It's taken over two years to get here. I spent 12 hours a day for many weeks over the past few months working on getting this place built. When I saw that first pizza come out of the oven, I almost had tears in my eyes."
His father and mother, Carlos and Carol Vizcaino, opened the original Tortugas in 1999 at 2801 John Hawkins Parkway in Hoover. The pizzeria, which specializes in deep-dish, Chicago-style pies, was named the best in Birmingham in a 2004 contest sponsored by the Birmingham News, and it has been featured on the Alabama Tourism Department's bucket list of "100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama Before You Die."
Not one to mess with success, Matt Vizcaino said about the only thing he's changed at his place is the phone number.
"The brand helps," he said. "That's one of the things we discussed early on, was how we were going to name it and brand it. And we felt strongly that keeping the Tortugas Pizza moniker was very important -- and keeping things the same as they are in Hoover, the way my parents have done it.
"The menu is exactly the same," he added. "I took it from Hoover and copied it and added our phone number to it."
The new Tortugas is at 1304 Second Ave. South, just around the corner from Good People Brewing Company, across the street from University House apartments, and a deep foul ball from Regions Field.
"With the ballpark and having the brewery next door, we just felt right here," Vizcaino said. "There are a bunch of apartments that have popped up, so we felt like it's a good population center."
The Tortugas menu features 10- and 12-inched stuffed, deep-dish pizzas with such ingredients as Italian sausage, pepperoni, bacon, chicken, meatballs, anchovies, olives, pineapple, spinach, bell peppers, jalapenos, mushrooms and onions. Thin-crust pizzas are also available, as well as both deep-dish and thin-crust pizza by the slice.
Some of the specialty combination pizzas include the Carne Special (Italian sausage, pepperoni, bacon and Canadian bacon), Traditional (Italian sausage, green bell peppers, mushrooms, garlic and onions), Pizza Mexicana (house-made salsa, beef, black olives and mozzarella and cheddar cheeses), and Wrigleyville (smoked sausage, Italian sausage, green bell peppers and onion).
The menu also includes subs, salads and lasagna.
The deep-dish pizza at Tortugas Homemade Pizza has been featured on the Alabama Tourism Department's list of "100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama Before You Die." (Birmingham News file/Hal Yeager)
Keeping it all in the family
Vizcaino's father is a native of Ecuador and his mother grew up in Birmingham, and they met while working at Edwardo's Natural Pizza in Chicago, where Carlos Vizcaino mastered the art of making stuffed pizza. After 12 years at Edwardo's, he and his wife opened their own place, Papapia's, in the Chicago suburb of Mundelein, Ill. In 1999, they moved to Birmingham to be near Carol's family and opened Tortugas Homemade Pizza that September.
"I've had a pizza-filled life," Matt Vizcaino said. "Ever since I was little, I've been around pizza."
Matt Vizcaino, who was 6 when he moved here from Chicago, started working at his parents' restaurant when he was 14.
"I started off busing (tables), and then I gradually got into more stuff," he said. "Even though they are my parents, I still had to conform to the rules of child labor. I had to get a permission slip from my school to be able to work. But I've been with them for 11 years."
After graduating from Hoover High School, Vizcaino attended Auburn University on an academic scholarship. After changing majors a few times, though, he decided college wasn't for him.
"I realized that I really like being in the service industry," he said. "I really like making food for people, getting to talk to people every day.
"That's my biggest thing -- seeing different faces and seeing the look on people's faces when they try Chicago-style pizza for the first time. Straight out of the oven, a whole pie comes out and they're just in awe.
"My parents suggested that I open up my own store, and it kind of just blossomed from there," he added. "After a few months of brainstorming ideas and figuring out where to go, all of the cards fell into this."
Like the original Tortugas, the new pizzeria is decorated with World Series pennants, framed newspaper front pages and other memorabilia celebrating the Vizcainos' beloved Chicago Cubs, including a framed Cubs jersey with the name Vizcaino stitched on the back.
"We have a friend who is a season-ticket holder at Wrigley Field, so he brings us the (promotional) giveaways, flags and stuff," Vizcaino said. "Last year I was able to go up a good bit, but I don't think I'm going to be able to go this year. I probably went to six games last year, including a World Series game."
Keeping it all in the family, the younger Vizcaino's uncle -- his father's brother, Jack Vizcaino -- is a partner in the new restaurant.
"He's been a dentist for many years, so this is new to him." Matt Vizcaino said. "So I'm in the process of training him. I've got to say it's been a great experience for me training my uncle to work. It's given me a refresher on everything."
For now, Tortugas is open for lunch only, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. In about another week, Vizcaino said, the restaurant will remain open through dinner five nights a week. Regular hours will be 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays.
The restaurant does not deliver but does offer catering, Vizcaino said.
Tortugas Homemade Pizza is at 1304 Second Ave. South in Birmingham. The phone number is 205-730-9249. For a menu and more information, go here.