Stratford pizza restaurant aiming for larger slice of the action with move to new site
PIZZAS are on the move in Stratford as one of the town’s best-loved pitstops prepares to relocate to bigger premises.
Corte Campana has recruited an ever-growing army of fans mad for its pizza pies since opening at Bell Court on 1st August 2022. But it has now outgrown its cosy but stylish first base and is preparing to move in the next month or so to a much bigger unit, recently vacated by York’s opposite, and next to Seasalt.
The independent outlet is owned by Christian Porzio who is from Naples. He originally opened the café with the vision of serving authentic pizza from southern Italy.
“The inspiration comes from my passion for strictly Neapolitan food from my hometown, Torre del Greco. It lies between Pompeii and Herculaneum, at the foot of Mount Vesuvius,” Christian told the Herald.
“I’ve been living in Stratford for about eight years and spotted a gap in the market: simple pizza just like back home, sold either by the slice, round or by the metre.”
It’s a formula that worked, and that Christian and his team have stuck with for the last 20 months.
“Nothing has changed since we started – our product has been consistent, and our prices have been the same – it is still £2.50 for a slice of pizza. We’ve added some menu items, starters and nibbles, and we have coffee and Italian beer on tap and wine.”
There are also weekly specials, and everyone is catered for, with vegan and gluten-free items on the menu.
“It’s been amazing we’ve sold out consistently,” said Christian of their success. “We slowly started to run out of space and capacity. We need to satisfy the demands of our customers, so we have no choice but move.”
Christian continued: “I’m a parent of young children – they are five and one – so I am keen to accommodate families too. We offer somewhere unpretentious and affordable – where you can sit down with the pram and children.”
The new venue is currently being fitted out, and Christian hopes they will be settled in by early summer. He is mindful that they want to retain the ambience of the old place that customers love.
“We want to offer what we have at the moment – so more of a canteen vibe,” explained Christian. “With 100 covers – 70 inside and 30 outside – we will inevitably offer more service to table but want to keep our look and feel – like us but on steroids.”
Of course one thing that will be coming to the new restaurant is the pride of the kitchen: the pizza oven, a handsome brass beast, a custom-made Scugnizzo oven. It has the same combustion chamber of a wood-fire oven, but is greener and uses electricity. A perfectly-baked Neapolitan pizza is delivered in 60 seconds at a temperature of 460C.
There are also more staff being added to the team. They are currently predominantly an Italian crew, which means often there are six of them working behind the bar in the café “shouting at each other in Italian… which our customers enjoy” – added Christian.
To justify the bigger unit, Christian said they are “adding a lot more to the business – so more Neapolitan food culture, espresso and martinis with a pizza school upstairs”.
With investment riding on the new move, Christian is all too aware that town centre businesses continue to have their ups and downs.
“Business is always a gamble,” he said. “Like when we first opened, we didn’t know the response would be as amazing as it has been.
“I had mixed feelings about moving, but when the new unit became available I thought it’s now or never. We thought of going somewhere else, like Chipping Campden where I live, but wanted to reinvest in Stratford.
“In winter people came in their winter coats, knowing they might have to sit outside to wait for a table. Every day customers would say ‘you need a bigger venue’. Now we have, I’m doing it for Stratford!”