Let's Eat: Bell'Italia Pizzeria adds 24-inch pizza to its offerings

In order to create its new extra-large pizza, Bell'Italia Pizzeria needed a little help from one of its customers.

Customer and carpenter Brian Jones had to custom make them a 24-inch palette in order to even get the pizza into the oven.

"Now I tease my customer, ‘I'm working on a bigger one, so don't you get a smart car!'" Owner Mario Caputo said.

For $19.99, the 24-inch pizza can feed six grown men until they're full. Slices are a foot long and can have up to four sections with different toppings. The Caputo family said the pizza is also popular for parties.

The Caputos said a lot of customers have reacted very positively to the pizza, which can be found on their new and improved "to-go" menus. Many of their customers are remembered by name, and even by their order.

"A lot of people come in and just sit down they don't even have to say ‘bring me my usual;' I already know," Mario's son Matt Caputo said.

The Caputos also give back to their customers in the form of coupons and gift certificates. Customers can sign up at the restaurant, located at 4909 E. Chandler Blvd., for their monthly e-mail blasts, which include coupons for 20 percent off.

Also, those who buy gift certificates to Bell'Italia get an added value: spending $25 will buy a $30 gift certificate, $50 will buy a $60 gift certificate, $100 will buy a $120 gift certificate, etc.

The Caputos are also giving back to the community through fundraisers. All throughout March they donated 20 percent of participating customers' bills to the Desert Foothills Youth Mission Trip. This month they are donating 15 percent to Relay for Life, and next month they plan to do the same for a family friend battling Leukemia.

So far, owner Paola Caputo said they've donated almost $500 total, and she said this is just the beginning.

"It's a win-win," Paola Caputo said. "New people are being introduced to our business and at the same time we're helping out a cause."

The restaurant owners also like to give free samples to first-time customers and bring free meals to those who have been in the hospital.

"Some people have this small mentality. (Business owners) are looking at all their pennies, but you can't think like that," Paola Caputo said. "You have to think, ‘If I give it away, it's going to come back.'"

For more information, call (480) 893-1233 or visit www.bellitaliapizzeria.com.