About 30 people gathered Wednesday outside for the grand opening of Bowie Pizza as the owner cut the ribbon with enormous scissors.
Italian food lovers enjoyed free samples of involtinis, or Italian roll- ups, and pizza slices from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the restaurant at 1520 NW 13th St. Each customer received a scratch-off deal card with free items, like fountain drinks and dessert pizzas.
The Italian restaurant opened in March 2025, where it experimented with menu items during a soft opening phase.
The dining room was filled with the smell of smoky pizza haze, dough spinning through the air and art pieces bursting with color, including a depiction of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
The restaurant’s website explains how Bowie Pizza was created by Owner Eric Lencioni after taking trips to Italy. Lencioni visited restaurants serving fresh pizzas in welcoming spaces and wanted to recreate that. Now, Bowie Pizza has regular customers of its own.
“They [customers] will drive 45 minutes each way once a week just to remember pieces of their childhood,” Manager James Davis said, “to feel like they’re back there with their family again.”
Davis comes from a Sicilian family of pizza entrepreneurs. He said Bowie’s New York-style pizza dough requires a lengthy, detailed process.
The dough has to sit out for 20 minutes after it’s mixed. Then, it is formed into balls and put in the cooler for two days. After that, for a few hours, the dough rises.
Additionally, the pizza is cooked in 90 seconds in an oven heated to 940 degrees Fahrenheit.
Davis said that they donate the extra pizzas to Gainesville Food Not Bombs to feed people experiencing homelessness. On Christmas, they threw a pizza party for women and children at Peaceful Paths, a local shelter for victims of abuse.
Dorothy Hall, 32, said she liked the pizza better than other places she’s been to in Gainesville.
“It feels more like homemade,” Hall said.
Brett Douglas, a 49-year-old outdoor cooking YouTuber, came to the grand opening after visiting Bowie Pizza during its soft opening phase.
He said he loves watching his pizza being made through the window and the quick turnaround.
“We came to try them before and fell in love with the pizza, the crust,” Douglas said.
Lencioni drives to Orlando every week to pick up an order of Catupiry cheese imported from Brazil. It is a slightly sweet and buttery mild cheese used in several of the restaurant’s specialty dishes.
The croquette appetizer includes shredded chicken and the Catupiry cheese with crispy breading. Specialty pizza options include pear and gorgonzola ($14), shrimp and Catupiry ($14), and corn and bacon ($12). Margherita and pesto involtinis provide bite-sized rolls of crispy dough and toppings.
Leslie O’Hagan, 44, said her family arrived at Bowie to try it for the first time without realizing the grand opening was happening.
“I’m a big fan of the combo,” she said after trying the pear and gorgonzola option. “I like that they have different items on the menu.”
The grand opening marks a new era of operation with plans for an extended menu.
UF students who show their student IDs can get 15% off of their order. Bowie Pizza is open Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday through Sunday 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Contact Summer Johnston at sjohnston@alligator.org. Follow her on X @summerajohnston.
