F
or seven years now, the LaRussas have been bringing Chicago-style pizza to the Triangle by way of California. JP and Gwynne LaRussa, the husband-and-wife team behind ACME Pizza in Holly Springs, always dreamed of opening a restaurant of their own. JP, who grew up cooking with his Italian family, first worked in a restaurant as a dishwasher at age 17. The restaurant specialized in two things: deep dish Chicago-style pizza and salad. He worked his way up through the business, eventually becoming general manager. But eventually, the family tired of Oakland and began to look for a place to make their dream a reality. After many Google searches and a few visits to the Triangle, they fell in love with Holly Springs. They admired the tight-knit community and found a space for their restaurant that would be close to their home and to their three sons’ high school. So they packed up their belongings and their passion for deep dish Chicago-style pizza, and moved across the country.
‘DEEP DISH’ DEFINED
A quick lesson for the uninitiated: Deep dish gets its name because the crust is cooked in a deep pan rather than being tossed by hand like other pizzas. It’s a misconception that the crust is thick, Gwynne explains — it’s actually thin, with thicker, supportive sides that hold in the sauce and toppings. One of the most popular pizzas at ACME Pizza is “The Meathead,” which features Italian sausage, bacon, pepperoni and sliced meatballs, all on the same deep dish. When the LaRussas first arrived in Holly Springs, deep dish wasn’t a familiar concept to some of their customers. Getting deep dish to catch on took some education, and even — in the case of New York transplants who were die-hard New York thin crust fans — some persuasion. “But we’ve been able to convert some of them,” JP says, laughing.
DEEP MENU
ACME Pizza has a staff of about 15 people, but JP and Gwynne lead the way — JP as the head chef and Gwynne as the baker for all of the desserts. They each have their specialties; Gwynne comments on the popularity of JP’s garlic knots, and JP compliments Gwynne’s “world-famous brownies.” But more about these garlic knots. When the LaRussas arrived in Holly Springs, they had never even considered serving garlic knots; they just weren’t part of California’s food culture. But they soon learned there were a lot of differences between what was eaten in California and in North Carolina, and they began to listen to their customers to learn what they expected from a pizza restaurant. (One of their most common findings: People want ranch dressing. And at ACME, it’s housemade.) To truly understand and master garlic knots, JP began tasting them at various places. However, he found they were often afterthoughts, made with pieces of leftover dough and brushed with artificial butter. He thought he could do better for ACME Pizza. So he did. He created “Killer Garlic Knots,” which are larger than typical garlic knots, cooked in a deep fryer, brushed with fresh garlic oil, and sprinkled with Parmesan and parsley. They’re now one of the things for which ACME Pizza is best known. The ACME menu has branched out in other ways, too. In California, he says, restaurants could be successful by specializing in only one thing — but here, people want variety. So the LaRussas’ menu delivers with additions like calzones, pastas, subs, salads and even non – deep dish pizza. For those who aren’t in the mood for Italian food, ACME Pizza also offers a burger menu (although you can mix the two cuisines with the pizza burger, which is topped with pepperoni, mozzarella and housemade marinara).
DEEP CONNECTIONS
One of the LaRussas’ main motivations in moving to a smaller town was to become deeply involved in their community. Through their business, they’ve done just that — delivering free pizza to the high school football team and hosting spirit nights to raise money for causes ranging from breast cancer to children with special needs. And the community has returned that support. During the COVID-19 pandemic, customers are rallying around the town’s local restaurants, including ACME Pizza. Delivery and takeout business has been so strong that the LaRussas have been able to retain all of their full-time staff, even with reduced hours. ACME’s primary emphasis has always been customer service — it’s a full-service restaurant with servers who take care of their customers’ every need, from beer and wine to dessert. As people begin to venture out to restaurants again, Gwynne says she expects this focus to become even more defined. “We have to offer a space where people feel safe and comfortable, and we will continue to be focused on our interactions with every guest,” she says. “The way people feel in a space and the interactions they have will be the deciding factor between sitting down to eat or getting food to-go.”
ACME’S KILLER GARLIC KNOTS
1. Hand toss a large dough ball into a 16-inch round. 2. With a pizza cutter, cut the round in half. Then make six or seven perpendicular cuts, creating 12–14 strips of dough. 3. Tie each strip into a “knot.” Let the knots rest and rise a bit at room temperature for about half an hour. 4. Deep-fry the knots at approximately 350 degrees for 5–6 minutes, or until golden-brown, crispy on the outside and tender in the middle. 5. Place the knots in a large bowl and coat them in garlic oil (made from your favorite oil and fresh garlic cloves). 6. Sprinkle the knots with sea salt, freshly grated parmesan cheese and a pinch of dried parsley. 7. Serve with marinara on the side.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020
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