Luigi's Pizza

Charlotte will never be known as the “Pizza Capital of the World,” but the owners of Luigi’s Pizza — cousins who grew up in two areas known for pizza — could totally fool anyone walking into one of their three Queen City locations.

The first Luigi’s Pizza opened in 2005 in the Whitehall Commons Shopping complex at 8170 S. Tryon Street. They soon opened two more locations — 13551 Steelecroft Parkway Suite 100 and 1225-A East Blvd. — and won the 2009 Charlotte Observer Tournament of Pizza; a head-to-head NCAA-type bracket competition.

The reason they won is simple; Luigi’s pizza is pretty much perfection. Their thin crust pizza is exactly what any New York style pizza lover is looking for, and it all starts with the owners/cousins Tony and Lui Montesano. Tony grew up in Brooklyn, while Lui was born and raised in the Calabria region of Italy. Pizza is part of their combined heritage.

The feel and look of the restaurant feels very Brooklyn-esque. Even their Web site, luigis-pizza.com, feels authentic; instead of a "Contact Us" page, the link brings you to a “Yo! Speak to Us” page.

The pizza alone could make Luigi’s a success, but the restaurant also serves up Calzones and Stromboli’s for $6.95; Italian specialties like Lasagna, Manicotti or Eggplant Parmigiana for $10 to $13; and more than a dozen sandwiches in either 8-inch or 12-inch sizes for $6.25 and $7.95 respectively.

HelloCharlotte Tip: Pizza comes in three sizes: Large ($11.75), X-Large ($13.75) and Jumbo ($15.50). Why not just call them Small, Medium, and Large? Because there is nothing small about their “smallest” pizza, which measures in at 16 inches in diameter. The Jumbo is a whopping 20 inches large.

- by Mike D'Avria, Charlotte Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Mike D'Avria

Mike D'Avria graduated with a Journalism Degree from Indiana University in 2003.

He worked for the daily newspaper, The Athens Banner-Herald in Athens, Ga. before turning to freelance writing and video production.

Mike is the Executive Editor of CampLeadership.org, and has lived in Charlotte for four years.