RED HOOK — Pizza Moto is getting ready to open its new Red Hook restaurant this fall with a cocktail menu, chef's table and a massive wood-fired oven.
The pizzeria is hoping for a mid-September opening at 338 Hamilton Ave., near Mill Street, co-owner Anna Viertel told DNAinfo New York.
Viertel, who joined the business in 2010, said the "whole purpose" for choosing the Red Hook location was "a gorgeous, huge, built-in, turn-of-the-century" coal-fired oven hidden behind a back wall in the space.
"We've restored the oven using all its original materials and retrofitted it minimally to meet codes and cook with wood instead of coal," she said.
Pizza Moto was founded in 2008 by Dave Sclarow after he built a mobile pizza oven for a friend's wedding, according to the company's website. That fascination with handmade ovens inspired the team to tackle the existing Red Hook pizza-making equipment.
The new restaurant will feature about 45 seats, including a full bar with eight seats as well as beer, wine and cocktails and a chef's table in the kitchen "for those who want to get close to the oven in action," Viertel said.
The eatery's application for a full liquor license was supported by Community Board 6's licenses and permits committee on Monday.
Pizzas served at the eatery will be seasonal, experimental and diners might even see a few familiar favorites, Viertel said.
Pizza Moto recently closed its food stall at beer hall Berg'n in order to focus its efforts on completing construction at the brick-and-mortar restaurant.
"Working [at Berg'n] was taking too much of our focus away from the real beating heart of our business," Viertel said.
