This is “Small Bites,” a South Florida Sun Sentinel feature with tiny tidbits on the food and beverage scene — because we know that sometimes you just don’t have room for a long article. You want a little news brief instead, an amuse bouche of information, if you will. Enjoy!
WHAT: You can eat as much pizza as you want. There, isn’t that what you REALLY wanted to know?
That’s right, the first annual Pizza Fest at the Park will offer bottomless tastings from every participating pizzeria during the weekend of Feb. 7-8. The event at Fort Lauderdale’s Esplanade Park will also feature mozzarella-making demonstrations, a tomato sauce-making station and pizza-making classes (ticketed separately).
“In the last 10 years, we’ve had a lot of really good pizza places in South Florida, so the quality of pizza improved,” said Larry Mele, who co-owns the boutique brand of Pummarola Pizzeria Napoletana eateries with his brothers. “So you have … incredible pizza, but no one knows them. I mean, they can use more exposure.”
The Mele brothers fermented their dough-of-an-idea, presenting it to the city of Fort Lauderdale after opening a Pummarola location here and Emily’s Garden in the same neighborhood as Esplanade Park, where the inaugural Pizza Fest will be staged.
“The city really embraced it and it was a very easy to organize at Esplanade Park, which is great because you got the Broward Performing Arts Center and the Museum of Discovery and Science, so it’s a perfect location,” he added.
The Broward Center, MODS and Riverwalk Fort Lauderdale — all a part of the surrounding Himmarshee Village area — are among the event’s sponsors and will have information tents and activities. There will also be art/figurines for purchase, live music, a DJ spinning and kids’ activities.
WHEN: 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 7-8
WHERE: Esplanade Park, 400 SW Second St., Fort Lauderdale
Pummarola Pizzeria Napoletana/
A ticket to Pizza Fest at the Park in Fort Lauderdale will get you unlimited tastings from pizza purveyors. (Pummarola Pizzeria Napoletana/Courtesy)
COST:
- $26.75 for daily general admission (or four tickets for a discounted $80.25)
- $16.05 for daily admission of children age 12 and younger (with purchase of one general admission ticket); free for guests younger than 2
- $16.05 for Pizza Making Class by Pummarola
- $69.55 for daily admission to VIP Lounge (open bar, Italian appetizers)
INFORMATION: pizzafestival.us
THE PARTICIPANTS:
Talks are ongoing, but the plan is to have 16 pizza purveyors participating, eight each day. In addition to Pummarola and Emily’s Garden, here’s who has signed up so far:
- Pizza Craft Pizzeria
- Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana
- ‘O Munaciello
- Unico
- La Leggenda Pizzeria Napoletana
- Luna Rossa Cucina Rustica
- Bruna Rossa Hand Made Pizza
- Napuleatan Pizzeria & Deli
- Beach Club Pizza
- Pizza Piez
Also participating will be On the Run Coffee Bar, Oggi Foods (gluten-free), Stay Fresh Icee, Arancinoos Italian, La Regina di San Marzano and Cerveceria La Tropical.
EXTRA TIDBIT
Speaking of Pummarola, the pizzeria was once again named one of the “50 Top World Artisan Pizza Chains.”
50 Top Pizza, an online guide that annually ranks the best pizzerias worldwide, placed Pummarola at No. 43 for 2025. The announcement was made at the European Pizza Show, which took place in London in November. They placed 45th in 2024 and 50th in 2023.
“It’s tough … especially because we’re competing with pizzerias that are way higher priced than us,” Mele said. “You know, we are an affordable concept, but we still want the best quality.”
The Mele brothers have Pummarola locations in Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Miami Beach, Midtown Miami, Kendall (The Falls) and Coral Gables, with two more locations expected to open soon. There are also two in Spain. In the Neapolitan dialect of southern Italy, “pummarola” means tomato (the nickname given to their grandmother’s red sports car, which she was known for driving around Naples in the late ’60s and early ’70s). Visit pummarola.us.
Pummarola Pizzeria Napoletana
The Mele Brothers considered launching a Pizza Fest in Miami-Dade County, where this photo was taken at an event catered by the family’s Pummarola Neapolitan Pizzeria boutique chain. But then they opened a Pummarola in Fort Lauderdale and decided to launch the event in Broward County instead. The inaugural Pizza Fest at the Park will also include mozzarella-making demonstrations, pizza-making classes, a tomato sauce–making station, a DJ spinning and kid’s activities.(Pummarola Pizzeria Napoletana/Courtesy)