Business & Tech
Cooking Channel to Feature Amici's Pizza & Living Room in Berkley
The "Girl Power" episode of "Pizza Cuz" will air at 9 p.m. June 3 and highlight Amici's, as well as female-operated pizza joints in Pennsylvania and Oregon.
The Cooking Channel recently named Amici’s Pizza & Living Room one of the best pizzerias in the United States and will feature the Berkley restaurant during an upcoming episode of “Pizza Cuz” focused on women-owned businesses.
Cousins Francis Garcia and Sal Basile, who own Artichoke Basille's Pizza in New York, explore pizzerias nationwide on “Pizza Cuz.” The “Girl Power” episode will air at 9 p.m. June 3 and highlight Amici’s, as well as female-operated pizza joints in Pennsylvania and Oregon.
Co-owners Jennifer Stark and Maureen McNamara said they are thrilled “Pizza Cuz” named Amici’s among the top 18 pizza restaurants in the country and attribute part of their success to their “girl power.”
Dynamic duo
“We are a good business team. We’ve got each other’s backs,” McNamara said, explaining that she is detail-oriented while Stark keeps track of the big picture.
There also is something intangible about their success, an energy or a “collective consciousness,” as the duo described it.
“It’s really a transformative place. You come for a pizza and a martini but you leave with a good feeling,” McNamara said, noting even the Cooking Channel crew could sense the vibe while shooting. “It’s like joining in on a party, at times, in this atmosphere. It’s just an extension of who we are. We treat people like we would coming into our home and our staff is an extension of that.”
Stark said she and McNamara aim to treat everyone – men and women – equally and encouraged other women seeking success to be nicer to each other.
“We’re just strong women because that’s who we are. That’s how we were raised,” Stark said. “It’s not a conscious thing. It all just comes out organically. Our style probably drives some people nuts – we have no corporate structure.”
But, readers on the Huntington Woods-Berkley Facebook page who weighed in on what makes Stark and McNamara successful praised their style:
- Stephanie Norton: Jen and Maureen are very visible to their customers and take the time to talk – I don't know many restaurants where the owners make it their business to talk to the customers.
- Heather Bennett-Spurck: The fact that they are always on-site, they take pride in their product, they get to know their customers, they give back to the community and they are, all around, fantastic women!
- Sarah Rupp Pedini: Because they're women, they rock!
Stark said the Cooking Channel approached them about being part of the “Girl Power” episode in November and filmed in February at Amici’s.
“They came in at 10:15 a.m. and mic’d us. It was full-on panic,” Stark said. “I was like, ‘They’re mic-ing us? What?!’ I was like, ‘Jen, you’ve got to get it together.’ In the end, it was fun.”
The duo invited many of their regular customers, including Berkley Mayor Phil O’Dwyer, Berkley Public Safety Deputy Director Bob North, Huntington Woods Parks & Recreation Recreation Supervisor Colette Nutton and Huntington Woods Recreation Program Coordinator/Aquatic Director Mary Gustafson to participate in the filming.
“Berkley’s got a really great community to do business in. We’ve been treated so well,” Stark said.
However, that doesn’t mean the duo doesn’t face challenges.
“In terms of the whole ‘girl power’ thing, there probably aren’t too many females in the business,” Stark said. “We get calls here: ‘Is the owner in? When will he be back?’ They just assume it’s a guy. It’s interesting.”
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
