La Fenice Pizza: How Two Founders Turned a Pandemic Idea Into a Pizza Powerhouse

Originally published on GoDaddy Resource Library

By Mark McCaffrey, Chief Financial Officer for GoDaddy

At GoDaddy, few things inspire us more than learning directly from the entrepreneurs we are here to support. I had the chance to meet with Leo Lopez and Lamont Chapell, the San Jose-based founders and owners of the mobile catering company, La Fenice Pizza. Leo and Lamont brought one of their mobile pizza ovens to our Santa Clara, California office and served up fresh, wood-fired pies to GoDaddy employees while they shared the story behind their business.

The story of La Fenice Pizza began during the pandemic — Leo and Lamont were working at a pizzeria when they realized, “We could do this ourselves.” So, they invested in a professional oven — a big purchase that marked the point of no return — and started hosting pop-up events at wineries and breweries in the Bay Area.

Named after the Italian theater La Fenice, a symbol of resilience, La Fenice Pizza embodies perseverance and creativity. Their journey did not begin with an overnight success — Leo shared how they sold only two pizzas at their first pop-up event. Trusting in themselves to build something meaningful was the scariest and most exciting part of the process.

Fast forward five years, La Fenice Pizza has grown into a thriving business specializing in private event catering. Every year brought new growth, loyal staff members and strong community ties (where they are known locally as “the pizza guys”).

Between bites of pizza, we talked about the realities of running a mobile business and the tools that keep them moving. One such tool included GoDaddy Conversations, which makes it easy for them to keep up with customer messages from various channels while they are on the go.

For Leo and Lamont, entrepreneurship has meant more than just business success — it’s about ownership, freedom and making their families proud. They are excited to expand the business and have a goal to open a brick-and-mortar location this year, adding a physical home base to complement their mobile operation.

I love meeting customers like Leo and Lamont. Conversations like these give us such valuable insight into life as an entrepreneur — the courage to get started, the determination to keep going, and, importantly, the ways we can support with tools and guidance at every stage.

These two entrepreneurs embody the grit and drive we so often recognize in the small business owners we are proud to support. We can’t wait to follow what’s next for La Fenice Pizza.

To every entrepreneur chasing their dream: keep trusting yourself, building and know that every great leap starts with a little faith (and maybe even some delicious wood-fired pizza).

Cheers,

Mark