At Noni’s, we still believe in good flavors and good company… and we never turn down a shot and a slice.

Carlo and Frances Lazzarino are the owner’s great-grandparents and the inspiration behind “Noni’s”, the Italian word for grandparents. The Lazzarino’s traveled to America on a three-month long voyage by ship in 1933 and immigrated through Elias Island in New York City with their five-year-old son Dominic. With no money to speak of, Carlo set out working in the coal mines in Pennsylvania where he and Frances also ran small café. The couple saved up enough money to move to California where they ran a small olive business and then saved up once more to move to Seaside, near Monterey where their beloved pizzeria would eventually open. Carlo started out selling shots of grappa, an Italian grape-based brandy, to the sailors traveling in and out of the harbor. Not long after, Frances began to make authentic Sicilian pizza to go with the grappa, exclaiming to the sailors “Mangia! Mangia!”. In Italian, this is an expression pronounced “mon-jah” that means “Eat! Eat!” and is often used as an invitation to stop and enjoy good flavors and good company. Carlo’s Pizzeria remained open for over 50 years, and the family recipes carried down through the generations.