The front of Dazzo’s Pizzeria, like much of Knoxville, is completely cut off by construction.
Sitting at the lower end of Gay St. near the Bijou Theater, the pizzeria occupies the kind of space that is easy to miss unless you already know what you’re looking for.
For the past two years, Adam Myers has been working at Dazzo’s Pizzeria as general manager, dealing with the day to day grind he believes makes his restaurant stand out from the rest.
“We have a lot of regulars, and a lot of our regulars probably think they’re in on a secret,” Myers said of the clientele. As a self-described “niche” pizzeria, it’s not uncommon for Myers to see prospective customers walk right by, completely unaware that the pizza they’re looking for is getting farther and farther away.
“I’ll see them walking right by us,” Myers said. “We’re kind of a best kept secret.”
However, that secret only really started to take form in 2011, when Martha Boggs purchased the location from its former owner, Gavin Loyer. Loyer had originally migrated from Long Island, New York in the mid-2000’s. Armed with family recipes, Loyer set up the original Dazzo’s as a traditional, New York style pizzeria, yet grew tired of the location in 2011.
“He was kinda like the pizza Nazi,” Boggs joked, describing the former owner simply as the “crazy New York guy from Long Island.”
In spite of the owner’s eccentrics, Boggs grew to love the pizza while working across the street at her other restaurant Bistro at the Bijou. Over the course of her life, Boggs has had her hand in several of Knoxville’s eating establishments. A one-time bartender at former Old College Inn, Boggs took over managerial duties for the Bistro at the Bijou in the mid-90’s, eventually coming to the own location altogether.
While she admits to loving the pizza, Boggs said her purchase of Dazzo’s was more out of necessity than admiration.
“I have no storage at the Bistro and they have a giant kitchen downstairs, so it provided us with a commissary and extra storage for the Bistro,” Boggs said.
Step inside the restaurant, and one can immediately see where the idea of a niche restaurant originated. The interior, unlike the exterior, reflects the kind of atmosphere Myers takes pride in.
Patrons can watch the chef prepare each individual pizza. After flipped dough, after ruby red tomato sauce and fried cheese, after half an hour in the oven and a restaurant filled with the aroma of garlic, only then comes the final product.
As a restaurant situated at the far end of Gay St., Myers says the restaurant’s customers typically come from two areas: those who work downtown and frequent the establishment often, and the concert-going crowd that spill into the streets when the show is over.
For Myers, it’s the ones that stop by frequently that make the job worth it.
“Day or night, you name it, we’re getting regulars constantly,” Myers said.
Over the course of many shifts, Myers recalls a woman struggling with kidney failure who frequented the restaurant. Over time, he came to view her, and many regulars like her, as a kind of alternate family.
“It’s a more intimate atmosphere,” Myers said.
Dazzo’s Pizzeria is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.
