“We’ve heard a rumor that L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele has been sold,” emailed E. “Their pizza is our favorite in Santa Barbara, so I’m concerned. Have you heard anything?”
A liquor-license transfer in the works, as posted in the window at 1031 State Street (Carrillo/Figueroa), and Da Michele has removed its signage. “We started out very strong, but then we lost money the last two years,” explains Da Michele owner Francesco Zimone. He didn’t want to close the doors and leave employees stranded, so he waited till he found the right person to take over.
Rish Rozera will open a pizzeria called Social in the space. Here’s a statement from him about his background and plans:
My family has strong roots here in Santa Barbara; we own Flavor of India, and that connection to food and community has been central in shaping who I am.
I started working in restaurants at 18. My very first job was as a CSR at Domino’s Pizza, and from that point on, I fell in love with the energy of the restaurant world. There’s something about the fast-paced, ever-busy environment of a full dining room that motivates me. I genuinely love serving people—it’s what gets me going every day.
Opening SOCIAL SB is my dream come true—my first ever restaurant, my “baby.” I feel truly lucky to have found this historic location to start this exciting new chapter. My vision for SOCIAL SB is to offer a fresh, welcoming space where people can enjoy vegan-friendly breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I want to take full advantage of the opportunity to serve wood-fired pizzas and authentic pastas, with an emphasis on high-quality ingredients and classic Italian techniques.
As an Indian, butter chicken holds a special place in my heart, so you’ll definitely see creative dishes like butter chicken pizza and pasta on the menu—but I promise to never compromise on Italian authenticity. I’m excited to bring these flavors and ideas together and share them with Santa Barbara.
Anyone craving a Da Michele fix, meanwhile, can always go to L.A., Long Beach, or New York City—or Naples, Italy, of course.
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“He didn’t want to close the doors and leave employees stranded, so he waited till he found the right person to take over.”
Wow, I wish there were more people like this in the world. Kudos to him! Also butter chicken pizza sounds amazing.
Seriously Tristen..? Are you aware of how businesses work? Truly delusional.
Yikes man. I’m a CEO and currently working for nothing so we can still pay our team, serve our customers and achieve profitability and maybe a big exit. I’d like a bigger boat as much as the next guy. Even the greediest of us might care about our employees or the long-term potential of something.
“achieve…a big exit” yeah, so you’re not working for nothing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expected_value
Taking a risk because you believe in a possibility of a future reward. Good point though, you are right. I guess you’d have to say you’re working for something if you believe there’s a probability of a future reward. Which is what it feels like — other than no paycheck hitting, I do feel like I’ll be paid back.
My point was that I think for most people in business, even though they consider personal compensation a major factor, they care a lot about their employees and even more so customers who put faith in us.
Bummed to hear it, I don’t know of any other Neapolitan style pizza in SB. Wish I had gone there more often!