By Lee Reinsch
Correspondent
DE PERE – Don’t expect to get mango-salsa pizza or one with a hot dog-stuffed crust at De Pere’s newest pizza joint.
The owners of Strada Pizzeria, 109 N. Broadway, focus on the kind of pizza found in southern Italy: an old-world recipe based on simple ingredients sourced locally, whenever possible, and direct from Italy when not.
As former residents of “bel paese,”(Italy) Andy and Sofia Auricchio Krans know something about what makes a good pizza.
“Our pizza is simple – you aren’t going to get pineapple pizza,” said Andy Krans. “We aren’t going to let people add stuff to their pizza – it’s not Burger King.”
Sofia is a fifth-generation cheesemaker, and her father, Errico Auricchio, founded BelGioioso Cheese, Strada’s cheese of choice.
Her family came to the U.S. in 1979.
Krans said he’s been known to eat pizza five days a week and said Green Bay has several places with amazing pizza.
Though, he said Strada’s is better.
“Ours is like nothing they’ve ever had before,” he said. “One bite is worth more than a thousand words or a picture.”
Filling a void
The Kranses opened their authentic Italian eatery Nov. 4 in the former Bilotti’s Pizza & Italian Garden, which closed in 2017.
Even with pandemic seating limits in place, they’ve sold hundreds of pies, and have a booming takeout business.
They also offer take-and-bake pizzas that are parbaked and require just a few minutes in the oven at home.
“Broadway in De Pere has amazing coffee shops and retail shops and a long tradition of always having a local pizza shop,” he said. “And then it wasn’t there.”
They renovated the space, revealing the tin ceiling and exposing an old elevator.
Couches and Italian art lend a homey feel.
“We wanted to make it like you’re sitting in the kitchen or living room of your nonna, your Italian grandmother,” he said.
The idea for a pizzeria had been simmering in the Kranses’ minds since returning to the area from Italy in 2012.
But the final nudge came when they heard about an iconic Green Bay restaurant closing.
It got them thinking about what the area would be like if it lost many more local landmarks.
“So much was lost in 2020, we just needed to bring some joy back into the community,” he said. “We figured no one in their right mind would open a pizzeria at this time but ultimately that’s what we need.”
Solid base
Everything good needs a solid foundation, and Strada’s is its dough, which takes three days of fermentation and a day of proofing before it can be baked.
As the yeast eats sugar, it produces carbon dioxide, which causes the dough to rise.
The processes add nuance to the flavor and change the texture of the dough.
“This gives you a light, airy, thick crust,” Krans said.
Chefs arrive at 5 a.m. six days a week to get the crust going.
“We’re making crust on Monday that won’t be ready until Thursday or Friday,” he said.
Because foreign travel has been restricted, Strada sent its two pizza chefs to Roman Pizza Academy in Miami.
There they spent five days on pizza crust.
“All of our ingredients, if we can’t source them locally, they come from Italy,” Krans said. “The flour comes from Italy, the cured meats, prosciutto and Italian sausage, are all imported.”
When not locally in season, the tomatoes come from Italy. And the cheese is always BelGioioso.
Pizzas are rectangular and sold by the slice or pie, and customers can even order a slice variety box.
What’s in a name?
Strada means street in Italian, and Strada describes itself as authentic Italian street food.
The word can also carry the sense of a journey.
“La nostra means ‘our,’” Krans said, referring to the shop’s unofficial prefix. “This is our journey.”