Adrian Dinica is a perfectionist. That much is clear while sitting down with Dinica to discuss the expansion of his pizza business, Street Pizza, in downtown Greer’s Cartwright Food Hall.
The food hall initially approached him last year about opening a location as a vendor on its campus. He wasn’t ready at the time, having just opened.
Dinica opened Street Pizza on a repurposed bus, traveling for events, concerts or markets — often in Simpsonville, where he lives. His wife, Dani, painted the truck with cobblestone designs and likenesses of the Colosseum and Eiffel Tower.
But today, if you walk into Cartwright and head upstairs, you’ll see areas taped off, indicating the plans he has for his space.
“You’re sitting on top of my fridge,” Dinica jokes, gesturing to a blue-taped area.
Dinica is a native of Romania and trained chef, but he ultimately chose pizza as his profession. He credits that choice to good friends who are also pizza chefs. Over the course of about 20 years, he’s made pizza all over Europe.
Dinica has developed a process over time that principally involves respect for dough. He hopes to train an apprentice, but that takes time and passion.
“In six months, in one year,” Dinica said, “I can teach somebody to make (it) perfect or better than me, but it takes time.”
In this way, he hopes to help others by sharing his technique and passion. He can often be found throwing dough with the finesse of a professional basketball player, behind his back and over his head.
The aforementioned pizza is similar to New York style. He favors cheese or pepperoni but likes to get creative, too. He even offers dessert pies.
The Cartwright location is expected to open at the end of April.
For those who already visit Street Pizza in Simpsonville, Dinica made it clear he will keep operating the truck. He said he loves it.
