All in the Family

All in the Family Gio’s Pizza brings traditional Italian fl avors to Anthem By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski B orn in Sicily and raised in New York, Onofrio Modica knows great pizza. For  ve years, the Anthem resident has been sharing his family’s recipes through Gio’s Pizza, which boasts top-notch deep-dish, thin, New York-style and Sicilian crust pies. “I’ve been in the business for 47 years,” he says. “ e secret to my success is experience, consistency and quality. I try to stick with the same recipe.”

Modica comes from a family of butchers, who branched o into the pizza business. He moved to Anthem a er vacationing here, and soon opened an eatery in Scottsdale. When that closed, he worked in construction. His kids encouraged him to fall back into the family business.

 e traditional pizzeria has a variety of round, thin, New York-style crust pies on its menu, ranging from napolitana (mozzarella and tomato sauce; $14.95 for a whole, 16 inch) to meat lovers (mozzarella, ground beef, bacon, sausage, pepperoni and ham; $29.95 for a whole, 16 inch).

A few of the same varieties are available in the 12-inch by 18-inch rectangular, thick, Sicilian-style crust for $17.95 to $21.95.

 e stu ed pizzas serve six to eight people and come in ham, cheese and pepperoni; and potato, pepperoni and sausage. A whole pizza is $29.95.

Onofrio Modica, who owns Gio’s Pizza, designed and created the interior of his eatery. (Photos by Chris Mortenson)

“ e dough is my family’s recipe,” he says. “ rough all the years, you’ll always come up with di erent ideas.” All selections are available in slices as well. O the menu are interesting pizzas. “We do make lasagna pizzas,” he says. “We make rigatoni pizza. When people request it, we make it. We have a lot of di erent types of pizzas that we don’t display. What we display is what sells constantly, all day long.”

Modica’s other specialties include rolls— meat sauce and spaghetti—and pepperoni, ham and ricotta pinwheels, and broccoli, spinach and ricotta pinwheels. Garlic knots, calzones and wings are on the menu, too.

He creates homemade chicken parmigiana, eggplant parmigiana and meatball parmigiana, as well as lasagna and baked rigatoni for those who are not in the mood for pizza. Gio’s Pizza has a limited dining area, which was designed by Modica and fashioned a er a New York pizzeria. He painted the restaurant and created the woodworking.

In April, Gio’s Pizza will celebrate its   h anniversary with specials and discounts. Check its Facebook page for information at facebook.com/giospizzaanthem.

Modica, who also provides catering, is proud of his success.

“It’s like when you feed little babies. You have to make sure you’re there all the time,” he shares. “ ere are no shortcuts and I’m nice to my customers.  at’s most important.”

Gio’s Pizza 4205 W. Anthem Way, Suite 104, Anthem 623-500-2350, facebook.com/giospizzaanthem, giospizzaanthem.com