When Greg DiGiovine aka Tony Tutto quit the music promotion business and decided to follow his passion to open a small pizza restaurant in Mill Valley, he could never have imagined where he would be 11 years later.
After losing his lease on East Blithedale, Tutto, who once managed Carlos Santana, began looking for a new location in Marin to serve his by now well-known and loved pies with names like Peter, Paul & Pesto, A Love Supreme and a Whiter Shade of Pale. Tutto looked at over 100 spaces throughout Marin, but it was the sweet, light filled spot in downtown Ross, that he “fell deeply in love with—I saw the light literally and figuratively,” said Tutto who was especially taken by all the greenery in the small town. And after a decade of contending with busy traffic and limited parking, Tutto knew he had found a home for Tony Tutto’s next incarnation.
Tutto wasn’t sure how he would attract new customers and bring back his large established following from Mill Valley. “I decided to let people smell their way to my new location,” explained Tutto who opened his doors last October for five days and offered free pizza and drinks to anyone who walked in the door. By the last day—the place was packed.
Along with his musically named pizzas, Tutto also offers calzones, lasagna and soup. His selection of specialty beers numbers over 50. Focaccia with seasonal toppings is a new addition to the menu. Daily pizza and focaccia specials often include whatever is fresh at the farmers market. Recent specials included pies topped with fiddlehead ferns and asparagus and another boasted brown piopini mushrooms.
Though Tutto is careful not to promote his food as vegetarian, there are no meat items on his menu and most of the ingredients are organic.
To say that Tutto has come a long way since the day he decided to follow his pizza dreams with his cash-only pizzeria where orders were placed on Post It Notes is an understatement. The self-described shy guy who was accustomed to promoting others is now a veteran restaurateur with a loyal and beloved following.
“I’m just trying to make really good pizza and see people be happy,” says Tutto.
