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n the outside, That’s Italian Cucina y Pizzeria Napoletano may have a utilitarian shopping center storefront look, but when you step inside the doors, you’ll be transported to another world. A warm ambiance of wood and stone Owner Gennaro with brick archways and wine bottle Esposito chandeliers welcomes you to sit back and enjoy a intimate refined Italian also been a winemaker, so Gennaro is not only dining experience, brick-oven pizza with the comfortable with what he’s putting on plates family, or time with friends at their unparalleled and pouring in your glasses, he’s absolutely paswine bar. This unassuming restaurant tucked sionate about it. And while the restaurant may away in Retreat Plaza offers a flavorful new culibe new to us here, our neighbors up the road nary adventure from the Old World. have been enjoying Gennaro’s delicious dishes for years, as he opened the first That’s Italian in Owner Gennaro Esposito is a welcoming and Hinesville in 2011, and a second location in knowledgeable host. His family came from the Richmond Hill in 2013. Not a national chain Campania region of Italy, and it is cuisine from or franchise, That’s Italian is one of a small Naples and the region that he brings to St. family of restaurants that Gennaro owns and Simons Island. He’s been in and out of restaurant kitchens since he was 13 years old and has
oversees himself. You’ll find him in at least one of the restaurants every day – and sometimes all three! He credits having good managers in place (including his son, in Hinesville) with his ability to operate in three locations. One of the features inside is the beautiful big brick oven stocked with wood that gives their delicious pizza and other dishes their unique and authentic Old World flavor. Fresh mozzarella, summer tomatoes and basil top a Neapolitan-style round, thin crust pizza baked with dough made fresh daily for a marvelous Margherita. But this is anything but a typical “pizza joint.” Regional cuisine takes the spotlight here, with some additions and modifications for local tastes and customer preference. So now, yes, you CAN get a pepperoni pizza, as well as the amazing lasagna that is made just as it was in Gennaro’s own family. From salumi and bruschetta, to salads, soups, (continues)
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ELEGANT ISLAND LIVING
