Dom DeMarco’s brings taste of Brooklyn pizza to Summerlin area

The hunt for America's best pizza is over, or so say the owners of Dom DeMarco's Pizzeria & Bar, 9785 W. Charleston Blvd. They scoured the country in their search for the right product to bring to Las Vegas.

Their new eatery features the pizza that has been a staple in New York City since 1964. Di Fara Pizza put Brooklyn on the map for pizza lovers, and dedicated patrons have been known to wait in line for three hours to get their hands on a pie.

Zagat has named Di Fara Pizza the No. 1 New York City pizzeria for eight years running.

Co-owners in the venture, Albert Scalleat and Jeff LaPour spent the past five years tasting pizza at various restaurants. They estimated they tried 200 different pizza places. Didn't they get tired of pizza? No.

"It's the only dish you can eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner," LaPour said.

There was one place in Trenton, N.J., that topped the list.

"For years, we always rated pizzas against that one," Scalleat said. "Then Jeff called me from New York and said, 'You won't believe this, but I found a pizza that's better than our place in Trenton.' "

That was about five years ago. Since then, they've developed a relationship with Di Fara's owner, Domenico DeMarco, and were the first to be offered a license to open a place using his recipe. The Dom DeMarco's Pizzeria & Bar owners spent time back east for hands-on training on how to make the pizza.

"The secret is not one thing but a number of them, the quality of the ingredients ... some are things that you wouldn't pick up on," LaPour said.

Many of the ingredients are imported from Italy, and all are fresh, with menu items made daily and vegetables cut daily.

Where the Brooklyn place is a small, vintage neighborhood establishment and basically offers little beyond pizza, the Las Vegas version includes pasta and sandwiches.

The 3,800-square-foot, family-friendly restaurant also serves wines and beers. The indoor portion seats about 100, and the 3,000-square-foot patio about the same.

Lori Scalleat, a silent partner, said ever since it opened Dec. 2, the eatery has been full every night.

"We're busier than we ever could have believed," she said. "Some nights, there's a 40-minute wait."

Diners Devanee Kessler, Beth Higgins and Megan Brooks said the food was fantastic and that they were repeat patrons, even though the eatery had been open only three days.

"We were waiting for a restaurant like this in Summerlin," Higgins said.

The owners say they were lucky to be the first ones granted permission to bring their discovery to Las Vegas.

"Domenico gets offers from all over the world," Albert Scalleat said.

He said as the economy improves, more Dom DeMarco's Pizzeria & Bar locations are planned in California and Arizona.

The restaurant opens at 11 a.m. daily. For more information, call 570-7000 or visit domdemarcos.com.

Contact Summerlin/Summerlin South View reporter Jan Hogan at jhogan@viewnews.com or 387-2949.