Tony Gemignani

Tony Gemignani’s California Artisan Type 00 Pizza Blend is made by Central Milling.

Opened in October of 2017, Tony brought an "old-world Italian specialties shop" to the neighborhood of North Beach. Giovanni Italian Specialties offers fresh pasta, specialty cooking tools, cook books, and offers focaccia and piadina daily.

Opened in 2013 at the Graton Resort & Casino in Rohnert Park, California, Tony's of North Beach offers many styles of pizzas made by Tony Gemignani. The menu offers eight kinds of pizzas made in three different kinds of ovens, family-style pasta dinners, sandwiches, and salads.

Gemignani's Chicago-style pizza and whiskey bar, Capo's, opened in November 2012 just two blocks away from Tony's Pizza Napoletana; it was designed to feel like a prohibition era speakeasy. The restaurant invites family style dining, serving four styles of Chicago-style pizza: Deep Dish, Stuffed, Cast Iron Pan, and Cracker Thin; along with Southern Italian dishes. Favorite items include the Quattro Forni, a thick, square cut pizza cooked in four ovens that is a variation on a pizza baked in three ovens that won Gemignani an international championship; The Dillinger and The Crown Point, Cast Iron Pan pizzas, that won the World's Best Pan Pizza and the Best of the Best at the International Pizza Challenge in Las Vegas in 2014 and 2016, and subsequently earned Chef Matt Molina the title of Pizza Maker of the Year in 2014 and Best of the Best Champion in 2016.

In 2011, Gemignani, Hewitt and Karpaty opened Pizza Rock in Sacramento California, with a focus on rock 'n' roll and great pizza. Pizza Rock offers many of the same items as Tony's Pizza Napoletana but features events such as Acoustic Brunch and live DJs performing from a custom Peterbilt truck. Now in Sacramento, California, Las Vegas, and Henderson, Nevada, Pizza Rock has received accolades in a number of publications, including the Sacramento and The Chew.

Opening in 2010, Gemignani took ownership of an adjacent deli. Seeing this as an opportunity to serve more styles of pizzas like classic New York style slices, Sicilian, and California style slices, along with Chicago Beef Sandwiches and other deli favorites, the slicehouse allowed people to enjoy Gemignani's pizza without the infamous wait times seen at his flagship restaurant.

Gemignani opened his first restaurant, Tony's Pizza Napoletana, in July 2009, with partners Bruno DiFabio and Nancy Puglisi, in San Francisco's North Beach. The restaurant has 7 pizza ovens.

In 2007, Gemignani took the title of "World Champion Pizza Maker" at the World Pizza Cup in Naples, Italy. Gemignani was the first American and non-Neapolitan to ever take this title. That night he had to be escorted off stage by local police and urged not to cheer for fear of being attacked by the crowd. Gemignani is the first and only Triple Crown winner for baking at the International Pizza Championships in Lecce, Italy, meaning, he won three first place titles in one competition.

Gemignani formed the World Pizza Champions in 2005, which is made up of over 60 team members who have each earned the highest awards in the pizza industry, along with television appearances, Guinness World Records, and respect as leading professionals and pioneers in the pizza industry.

In 2000, while on his honeymoon in Sorrento, Italy, he and his wife, Julie, dined at Trianon da Cir in Naples, which motivates him into a lifelong quest to keep learning and striving to become a better pizzaiolo, by paying careful attention to the authentic craft of each style of pizza, respecting its history, while striving to make it better. This attitude birthed his motto, "Respect the Craft", which can be seen on his websites, books, and even tattooed on his hands.

Gemignani graduated from Washington High School in Fremont, after which he began working at his brother Frank Jr.'s restaurant, Pyzano's, in Castro Valley, California, in 1991. Gemignani began his pizza acrobatic career while at Pyzano's as a way to entertain customers and to show the quality of the dough to diners. He competed all over the world, winning 8 world champion titles for pizza acrobatics between 1995–2007, and earning himself the nickname of the "Michael Jordan of Pizza Throwing". Gemignani traveled the world for 16 years, competing, working in others' kitchens, and learning about regional styles which allowed him to learn each style of pizza and perfect it.

Anthony Felix Gemignani (born August 23, 1973) is a 13-time World Pizza Champion, master instructor at the International School of Pizza, two-time Food Network gold medalist, restaurateur of 21 concepts, author and reality television personality. Gemignani is the president of the World Pizza Champions, is also a multiple Guinness World Record holder and is the owner and executive chef of several restaurants.