Pizzeria San Martin was born thirty years ago in Cornedo Vicentino (in the province of Vicenza) from an idea of of the uncle and father of Federico Zordan, the current owner. We had a chat with him about his business and his major concerns related to the COVID emergency. Federico explains that his pizza restaurant is a unique attempt to combine tradition and innovation: they select the ingredients among the best Italian specialities and skilfully use them, bearing in mind their seasonal nature and preferring Slow Food Presidia.
Federico is very proud to point out that they make no use of canned goods of any kind! The link between tradition and innovation is made clear in the list of pizzas they offer: they are undoubtedly original and innovative, but also recall great dishes of the local culinary tradition. An example of this is La Gallina Imbriaga Padovana, with stewed cuttlefish and peas, or pizza with polenta and cod.
Pizzas, however, are not the only focus of Zordan’s business. Another key feature of his restaurant is the attention paid to the world of beverage, as shown by the presence of a cold store tapping sy- stem, seven spines of craft beer and 50 references in bottles, as well as about twenty wines by the glass or bottle. We asked Federico how the COVID emergency has affected his business. Was it necessary, for example, to reorganize the spaces? The new regulations on the containment of the epidemic have forced many companies to re-discuss their rooms and furnishings. The owner of pizzeria San Martin explains that this is not his case. His restaurant is old, and any form of renovation would make it lose its history, its character. Federico explains that even before the emergency, the spaces were designed to contain the right amount of people. Human contact is a fundamental aspect of the setting up of these premises, as demonstrated by the delivery service: reduced and reserved for a few selected customers. Federico tells us that they activated a Food Truck service, which allows San Martin’s pizzas to be delivered outside the walls of the restaurant without losing con- tact with their customers.
Of course, explains Federico, both for the delivery service and the food truck service, they selected a food packaging up to the product’s standards, allowing it to preserve its characteristics in the best possible way and to be 100% recycled. It is essential, concludes Zordan, to have an eye on the environment.
