This Philly pizzaiolo is chasing the upper crust
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Photo: Courtesy of Mike Prince
Philly pizzeria owner Mason Lesser loves three things: making dough, surfing and going to the gym.
The big picture: The 25-year-old former pro surfer is making a name for himself in Philly's ultra-competitive food scene, cranking out New York-style pizzas every 10 minutes at his Fishtown shop, Marina's Pizza, which opened late last year.
- Helped by a six-person crew, Lesser works between 10 and 14 hours a day, seven days a week. And he has a message for people who warn him about his relentless pace that's as saucy as his homemade pies.
What they're saying: "People keep telling me that I'm going to burn out," he tells Axios. "Excuse my language, but it's a [expletive] mindset."
Reality check: If you can't stand the heat, stay out of Lesser's kitchen.
- It takes two days to properly ferment his pizza dough to ensure each bite has that chiropractic-like crack and crunch.
"We cook all our pizzas at 600 degrees. Well done," Lesser says. "Everyone loves it."
Flashback: Lesser started flipping pizzas in his grandfather Angelo Lancellotti's shops in the Philly area when he was 14 and never really stopped.
- He later spent several years as a pro surfer, competing in places like Tahiti, Indonesia and Central America.
Yes, but: Lesser quickly realized he couldn't make the kind of money he wanted from surfing.
- His grandfather — who ran about a dozen pizza shops across the tri-state region — actually counseled him against entering the family business, saying it was too all-consuming.
- "I would show him spaces here and there, but he's never very supportive of it all," Lesser says.
The bottom line: Lesser isn't one to wax poetic about the future, but he hopes to climb into the upper crust of Philly's pizza scene.
- "You gotta do what you gotta do to succeed in business," he says. "If you're not willing to do whatever it takes, you shouldn't be in business."
If you go: Hours: Sunday-Thursday, 11am-9pm, Friday and Saturday, 11am-1pm.