Before Guillermo Iván launched his Neopolitan pizza pop-up Marcella, he ran through a few other concepts.
His first foray into entrepreneurship was a dry-aging meat company in San Diego and Tijuana. Then, he bought a Traeger smoker during the pandemic and sold house-smoked brisket sandwiches out of his house until people started going back into restaurants. But when he was thinking of his next move, he wondered: What’s one food that pretty much everyone likes?
“Everybody loves pizza,” he says. He does, too, after having worked at Double Standard in East Village under chef Chris Gentile (who’s currently the executive chef at Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa and doing R&D with the three-Michelin-starred chef Dominique Crenn in San Francisco). “The process, the art of stretching the dough, the way it goes in the oven and how it rises, how you get those black spots—that’s what I love,” he explains.
Iván decided to call his venture Marcella because, well, it sounded nice. “I love women’s names on restaurants,” he laughs. “There’s nothing behind it. It’s very elegant.” His first pop-up in April 2024 at Novo Brazil Brewing in Eastlake sold out in a few hours. He knew he was onto something and decided to throw himself behind making the absolute best Neopolitan-style pizza San Diego has to offer.
His quest toward pizza perfection is nothing short of obsessive. He pre-ferments his dough for 24 hours (he only uses imported Italian Caputo “00” flour), then lets it sit for another 24 hours before portioning it. “It’s a three-day process to make the dough, and that’s why it’s so fluffy, so airy,” he says. He uses top-of-the-line ingredients as well, like San Marzano tomatoes, but “the dough is the thing I worry most about.” And, despite some advice from restaurateurs who encouraged him to consider cutting his costs by combining flours or using cheaper ingredients, he’s committed to his process. “I’m sticking to Caputo,” he says with a laugh. “For me, it’s quality over quantity.”
Marcella was Iván’s side gig for a bit while he worked in the kitchen at the Guild Hotel before he realized he was on to something. When the new owners of Market on 8th in National City approached him to open a permanent stall in the food hall, he went for it. It didn’t work out, but the few months he was there paid off in experience—and a new determination. “When I came back to do the pop-ups after closing down, that was the boom,” he says.
Now, Marcella appears all over San Diego, from Sunny Grove Brewing Company in Santee to Bica in Normal Heights. But after having a taste of what a brick-and-mortar could be like, Iván is looking for investors to help him realize his expansion goals.
“My goal is [to go] from being a chef to a business owner,” he explains. He’d like to hire at least two employees to help with set-up, tear-down, and service at the different pop-ups so he can focus on building business relationships and finding opportunities to one day open Marcella as a standalone restaurant. “It’s time for me to keep opening doors, enjoy the journey, and just be more clear in my mind and have better structure and better community,” he adds.
In the meantime, he’s going to keep up his mission of serving killer pies. “[When a] customer comes to me and is like, ‘This is the best pizza I ever had,’ that’s so amazing,” he says. “It’s worth every second, every hustle, every burn, every scratch—everything.”
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San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events
- San Diego is having a matcha moment (I mean, it’s always a good time for it) but matcha lovers can really get their fix at Glass Box on Monday, September 22. Chef Ethan Yang put together a matcha-themed, nine-course menu with matcha cocktails; matcha-cured salmon; matcha soba noodles; and, of course, a matcha-infused dessert. It’s matcha madness!
- Some of San Diego’s best chefs will convene at Olivewood Gardens in National City on Saturday, October 4 for the learning center’s Garden at Dusk Dinner Series. Starting at 5 p.m., chefs Tara Monsod (Animae, Le Coq) and Aidan Owens (Herb & Wood, Herb & Sea) will pair up with Oddish Wines for the final dinner of the series. The garden-inspired menu focuses on hyper-local ingredients (many of which can be grown right at home) and proceeds go to support Olivewood’s mission of environmental education, advocacy, and access. It’s a great cause with great people and what’s sure to be great food—what are you waiting for?
- There’s nothing I love more than a whimsical chef’s collab, and this one is sure to pique my sweet tooth. From now through the end of October, Little Fox Cups & Cones and The Taco Stand are teaming up to present a limited-edition “Churrito” ice cream, featuring The Taco Stand’s churros and some spiced Mexican chocolate for a sweet and slightly spicy scoop. Get your scoop at Little Fox (or pick up a pint at The Taco Stand’s Oceanside location) while it lasts.
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