Operations

Artichoke Basille's Pizza founder opens Panko Pizza in New Jersey

Photo: Panko Pizza

February 6, 2024

Panko Pizza has opened in Middletown, New Jersey, according to a press release.

The pizzeria was founded by fourth-generation pizzaiolo and owner of Artichoke Basille's Pizza Francis Garcia and features an innovative panko coat on the dough.

"The opening of Panko Pizza has been a long time coming and was inspired by the restaurant that my family originally opened in Staten Island in 1988," Garcia said in the release. "Making pizza is in my blood and bringing something new into the competitive pizza industry is an exciting opportunity to continue the legacy my family started. We've found that after a couple of hours, pizza crusts can lose their crunch or even get soggy, and we wanted to find a solution that not only adds crispness but an amazing texture to the pizza. After lots of trial and error, we found that the panko sears really nicely and creates a great pizza that you can't find anywhere else. We're so excited to share Panko Pizza with the Jersey community!"

The pizzeria is open seven days a week from noon to 9 p.m.