Ep # 164 - Authentic Neapolitan Pizza, Mobile Ovens, And A Neighborhood Success Story

Fire, flour, and a little Neapolitan magic. We bring you the story of Culto Italiano and its founder, Corrado Cervelli, who turned a backyard pizza truck into a beloved Bergenfield takeout spot and a full-scale, experience-first catering operation. From high-heat brick ovens to hand-stretched mozzarella and fresh pasta at events, Corrado shows how authentic technique and warm hospitality can transform a simple menu into a neighborhood ritual.

We dive into the early days—when parties moved outdoors and a mobile oven became the heart of safe, joyful gatherings—and trace how that momentum led to a compact takeout shop serving true Neapolitan pizza and southern Italian recipes. Corrado explains the craft in plain terms: the dough, the flame, the speed, and the balance that gets you a blistered crust and a clean finish. He also shares why people are done with drop-off trays and how live cooking turns birthdays, weddings, and corporate events into shared experiences guests remember.

Growth is on the table, but not at the cost of quality. With his partner Angelo anchoring the store, Corrado trains a team that can run mobile kitchens, manage tight driveways or big setups, and keep standards high across every pie and plate. He opens up about franchise opportunities, what it takes to replicate a brand built on touch and timing, and how his Naples upbringing—learning from his father in the family restaurants—still guides every move.

If you’re local, you’ll get the details you need to visit or book: Bergenfield location, lead times, and flexible setups from small ovens to full trucks. If you’re a planner or a foodie, you’ll hear how experience-led catering can elevate your next event. And if you’re an operator looking to grow, you’ll find a playbook for expanding without losing your soul. Subscribe, share this with a pizza lover, and leave a review to tell us: would you book the truck, the small oven, or grab a pie to go?

Culto italiano Pizzeria
Chef Corrado Cervelli
49 W Church St, Bergenfield, NJ, 07621
(201) 648-0111
corrado@cultoitaliano.com
Catering - 917-325-5619
cultoitaliano.com

Transcript

Meet Corrado And Culto Italiano

Intro/Close 0:00

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host.

Doug Drohan 0:11

Hey everyone, welcome to another episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast. Today we are coming to you live from Bergen County, but our guest is coming from uh well born in Naples, Italy. He's the owner of Culto Italiano. He's been on other shows before, so my podcast show is not the first uh media outlet that uh Corrado Cervelli has been on. But uh, you know, I'm really uh happy to have you on the show. Welcome to the show, Carato.

Corrado Cervelli 0:37

Thank you. Thank you for uh inviting me and hi to everybody. Yes, uh we we started this business a few years ago. Uh we opened 2020, the catering businesses, and uh uh two years ago we start uh this new concept of it's takeout in Bergamfield, New Jersey. Oh god

From Pizza Truck To Neighborhood Favorite

Corrado Cervelli 1:05

in December 20 um 2023. And you know what we do it's authentic uh Neapolitan style pizza and uh authentic uh Neapolitan recipes, also something from North Italy, but basically we do Neapolitan style and southern recipes. So everybody likes. I mean, people who traveled in Italy they they come to my store, they say this is uh the same, almost the same, uh you know, dishes we we find in Italy. So they are very happy and you know we uh we're happy for that.

Doug Drohan 1:48

That's great. So the the pizza truck, that was the beginning of your business was starting a uh you know a pizza truck was the first kind of beginning of your business?

Corrado Cervelli 1:59

Yes, we start only with uh with a small uh pizza truck, only the oven, and then you know we we set up in the backyards of the uh the people when you know pandemic starts, and you know, people they still uh you know want to have parties, and probably we were the only options they have at that time, because most restaurants they were closed, and then you know, we we delivered to them uh an authentic Neapolitan experience that time, but we're still doing now. We have uh more units, we have uh basically like a kitchen, mobile kitchen, uh everything in there, so we can literally do everything pizza, pasta, everything

How The Mobile Oven Experience Works

Corrado Cervelli 2:45

from from scratch.

Doug Drohan 2:48

Nice. So the um so you have a the pizza truck. Now that goes you can people hire you as like for a private party?

Corrado Cervelli 2:57

Yes, private party weddings, uh all kind of events, corporate, corporate events that we do a lot. This time it's it's very cold, so we we do well, yes.

Doug Drohan 3:13

Nice, and then um so you started with that, and then you have a pizza kind of truck where you you have a uh an oven, right? Like how does that work? You have a mobile brick oven. What what's this concept behind that?

Corrado Cervelli 3:26

It's uh authentic like brick oven that we enclosed in a truck, and we have a full kitchen, so it's really uh customized for uh private events. Uh it's uh hydraulics, so it's it's pretty big. So if you hire us for a private event, you should make sure you have enough space for us to set up.

Doug Drohan 3:55

So it's uh it's a wood burning oven, but you so instead of having a truck, yeah. People prefer to have just the oven instead of the truck?

Corrado Cervelli 4:04

Sometimes for small events, they just hire us for the you know, call us for the for the small pizza oven because sometimes the the backyards and driveways are very challenging for us for them. So we have multiple options that they can they can choose, you know, our guests can choose.

Doug Drohan 4:24

And do people get to make their own pizzas if they have uh if you come there with the oven? Do you show them

Opening The Takeout Shop

Doug Drohan 4:30

how to make a pizza?

Corrado Cervelli 4:31

We we used to mate sometime with the kids, you know, for the the birthdays, they yeah, they put apron on and they you know enjoy the the time making pizza and and uh messing around. But we love, yeah, we love to uh to give a smile, so they like it.

Doug Drohan 4:50

So from the uh from the mobile version of your business, then a couple of years ago you decided to open up a um kind of a takeout pizzeria, yeah.

Corrado Cervelli 5:00

Yeah, we we found a little space basically in the beginning. I was thinking to to keep like a kitchen, like for my catering. Then you know, people there were so uh curious about what I was doing, and then we decided to open like a takeout, and we have a few tables outside for probably you know spring and summer. But yeah, people they still come sometime a few weeks ago. They come to eat the pizza outside. It was about to snow, but you know, yeah, people like it, so we had very good review. Um yeah, we love what we're doing in this neighborhood. People they appreciate it. They say we are probably the only store, you know, really authentic Italians in miles, so they come, they come to us.

Doug Drohan 5:56

So, what is so you have a store now, so when are you able

Balancing Store, Events, And Team

Doug Drohan 6:00

to do the food truck and and private like potteries and catering?

Corrado Cervelli 6:04

I have a partner, I have a partner, Angelo, he's very good guy, he's working, he works very hard in the store. Okay, he's training uh pizza guy, and yeah, it's I mean we we're able to to run both things now at this point, yeah. Uh with uh his help and uh the people we training, and also with my wife, she's very uh she helps a lot. Yesterday we had an event in the city, and it was corporate, very successful. So we had a lot of fun.

Doug Drohan 6:44

Nice, nice. So, what um I mean, what part of it? I mean, you also do like private chef work, right? You do catering. So is there a um like a different part of the business? I don't want to put you on the spot and say, oh, I enjoy this more than the other, but obviously there's maybe it was born out of people just asking you, hey, can you cater my next event? Or did you always start this business thinking you would do a multiple uh number of things, not just you know, making pizzas?

Corrado Cervelli 7:15

I mean, the catering is uh it starts like uh let's say for fun, then you know we realized that people they were looking for something different, also for catering. I think people they bored uh from the old catering, they just

Turning Catering Into An Experience

Corrado Cervelli 7:35

drop up, drop off the food and leave. They want more like experience, you know. So they they like it, they enjoy us, uh they enjoy you know uh looking at us, making pizza and you know the show. We also make mozzarella from scratch at the events, fresh pasta. So they really are into something different, you know, with us. We really give them uh the difference.

Doug Drohan 8:04

Yeah, that's great. That's the thing.

Corrado Cervelli 8:06

Uh that's why I think they still uh calling us and for you know their parties and birthdays and everything they want to celebrate.

Doug Drohan 8:20

Right, right, right. And you know, from a business perspective, you know, if you were sitting on Shark Tank right now and you were trying to get investors in your business, I'm sure they would they would see the value in doing bigger uh ticketed items like you know, catering and parties and weddings versus selling slices of pizza that for a you know takeaway. Yeah. Yes, yeah.

Corrado Cervelli 8:45

I mean, we we uh we take out with thinking about to grow to open a few more spots in you know more uh cities like you know, Jersey City, also in Manhattan. But yeah, it takes a little more time. I mean we look in front of it.

Doug Drohan 9:05

So you have you have uh ideas of expanding then, is that that's what you're saying?

Corrado Cervelli 9:09

Yes, we we also have uh a web page which says you know uh franchise opportunity. We can help people who wants to invest uh money in this

Growth, Expansion, And Franchising

Corrado Cervelli 9:20

type of uh business, and we really can help them to you know to set up the the place and start up. Yeah, so we had a contact with somebody in Florida, but they we're still talking. I mean, probably we're gonna do it, but yeah, if somebody wants to invest in these things, we can uh really help them.

Doug Drohan 9:46

Nice, nice. I'd imagine if somebody's gonna franchise, you know, they're gonna have to learn how to make pizzas the right way, right?

Corrado Cervelli 9:53

I mean, we we teach them, we teach people, we teach employees. We're doing great with our store because we are always around sometime.

Doug Drohan 10:01

And yeah, and I guess do they have to be Italian?

Corrado Cervelli 10:05

Yeah, Italian, you know. Well, you know, if you have a passion for this, uh for this job, you you you can do it, you can learn.

Doug Drohan 10:13

I mean, yeah, yeah. That's great. Uh, where are you in in Bergenfield? So if somebody wanted to go and just have a you know a takeout pie or a slice, uh, where are you guys located?

Corrado Cervelli 10:25

We are in um 49 West Church Street uh in Bergenfield, 07621 is zip code if you're looking in maps, yeah.

Roots In Naples And Mentorship

Doug Drohan 10:40

And and how and in terms of parties, so if somebody, you know, it's it's um you know January, but if somebody's thinking about a party for their their kid or themselves, and they want to have the pizza truck or the pizza oven, how far in advance do they need to book with you?

Corrado Cervelli 10:58

Um a couple weeks would be the best, but sometimes they just call me a couple days before. If I have availability, uh you know, I do it right. But if you know two weeks, it's the best for weddings. They already know. I already have a wedding going on in August, already booked. So they did last year, yeah. A couple weeks for small events, we can do a week, two weeks.

Doug Drohan 11:30

Okay, okay. Yeah, and what's the best way for people to get in touch with you?

Corrado Cervelli 11:36

All right, I have a phone number, it's 917-325-5619. They can uh call me anytime, uh daytime, or online. We have our uh web uh website uh they can filler up the form. I have a contact us, they put all the information uh we need to provide them a correct uh estimate, would be the best option. But if they weren't, you know, talk to me, they have questions, they can always call me anytime. That's what I say to everybody.

Doug Drohan 12:14

Okay.

Where To Find Them And Book Events

Doug Drohan 12:15

Yeah, and you know, I mean, um if uh I mean your website, we'll just put it out there. It's cotoitaliano.com, cu-l-to-italiano.com. Um and uh if you go on their website, you'll see the catering menu. You'll see the menu that you can order from you know from their um storefront, and then there's a lot of information there about um the food trucks and catering offerings, pizza truck, catering package, wedding packages too. So, you know, if you're looking for an authentic Italian Napolitano type of wedding, I guess that's a good way to go too, huh?

Corrado Cervelli 12:54

Yeah. We also worked a couple weeks ago uh twice, they call us twice for um movie production in the CV. Okay, yeah.

Doug Drohan 13:04

So it's you know, it's let me ask you from a business point of view, like who uh what did you learn? Like when you go on your website and you're branching out into all these different things, you know, wedding, catering, the pizza truck, the franchising. Like, did you always have this vision? Do you have a mentor? Do you have someone like a business coach or somebody that's helping you? Or you know, are you doing this all on your own?

Corrado Cervelli 13:30

I mean, I born in uh in uh in Naples in my uh restaurant, family restaurants. We we have restaurants in Italy with uh my father, my my mother, my brother. So I always worked with uh with my with my family. So I think my father is one of the the first mentor, my you know, he taught me, he teaches me how to make pizza, to do run a business. So he's uh he's one of the first, and I think the only one gave me the opportunity to to get in this uh in this business. Then my brother is 10 years younger than me. He came here in this country a couple of times, but he it he doesn't like he said I like better Naples than here. All right.

Doug Drohan 14:29

Well, that's cool. I mean, the um, you know, you have a section that says uh Konoshiamochi. Is that how you pronounce it? Konoshimochi.

Corrado Cervelli 14:37

Yeah, Konoshiamochi.

Doug Drohan 14:39

So it's kind of like what this uh podcast is all about.

Corrado Cervelli 14:41

It's getting to know you, right?

Doug Drohan 14:44

Um yes, and this is great. You know, I've I have to say I've tried the pizza, it's very, very good. I wish I lived closer where you could deliver, but I live not too far. I'm like three towns north of you, I guess. Dumont, Haworth, and then Harrington Park. So I'm in Harrington Park. But um I'll have to check to see if if you guys do uh deliver that far. It's probably like five miles, six miles away. But uh this is gonna come up. You know, I really appreciate you uh sharing your story with us and thank you for people if you're in the area um to try it out, definitely. But if you don't have to be in the area to hire and have a unique type of experience for your next party, backyard party, you know, uh children's birthday party, whatever it is,

Closing Thanks And Listener CTA

Doug Drohan 15:30

it's it's a very cool concept, and it's not your normal pizza, it's done the right way. So uh thanks very much for joining us. I'm gonna have uh Chuck just say a few words, and you and I will be right back.

Corrado Cervelli 15:42

Thank you. Thank you for inviting me, and hopefully we can serve a lot of people, helping people to for their uh next event to celebrate the right way, giving an experience.

Intro/Close 15:59

That's the way we're gonna second that. Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpbergen.com. That's gnpbergen.com or call 2012 25.