Today we’d like to introduce you to Will Gruy.
Will, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My family lived in Rome for a few years when I was little. My mother would go to the bakery down the street and get us ‘Pizza al talgio’ on the weekends. It was always my favorite meal or snack.
After finishing high school in Dallas, I moved back to Rome as I had started competing in motorcycle road racing and signed with an Italian team for the European and the World Championships. During the 12 years I lived in Rome, I ate this style of pizza all the time.
Pizza al talgio is unique because it is thicker but still light. The crust is full of air pockets. It’s crispy and flavorful. I moved home to Texas to be with family and noticed the complete absence of this style of pizza. I felt I had to bring this pizza to my fellow Texans.
Motus is Latin for movement, both actual and metaphorical. I like this name because it’s the story of us all. How did we get here and where are we going next? It’s the story of this pizza, predominately consumed on the pedestrian streets of Rome. And it’s the theme of the story that connects cities like Rome, resting on their rich heritage, and cities like Houston that focus, almost exclusively, on the future.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It’s the restaurant business, so it’s not supposed to be easy. We’ve had all the expected obstacles and challenges. We’ve also had a lot of the successes that we continue to work for. It’s fun. It’s dynamic. We get to wear a lot of hats, and that keeps it interesting and keeps us energized.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We’re a family-friendly pizza joint, neighborhood hangout, quick and healthy lunch option, and a BYOB date spot. Our goal is for people to feel like they are coming to a familiar place – that friend’s house who always feeds you something special and won’t let you do the dishes.
Our kitchen philosophy is “simple, quality.” This philosophy comes straight from my time in Italy. Good Italian cooks are adamant about ‘materia prima’ or ‘base ingredients.’ This is the foundation we build on, not fancy and complicated recipes.
While we are a pizza place, we are functionally a bakery. We mix all our dough in-house every day. We import 2,500 pounds of flour at a time. We also make breads that will soon be available for sale and for delivery subscription. As with our pizza, our breads benefit in flavor and texture from a long cold fermentation.
What were you like growing up?
At just a few months old, my family moved to a town north of Rome called Porto Ercole. Aside from a small amount of elementary schooling while in Italy, I lived in Dallas for most of my youth. I was always in the kitchen with my mom. She would let me cut the zucchini because it could be done with a dull knife.
So I did the prep, and she would fry them up. Not to be outdone, my dad easily convinced me that cleaning his motorcycle was fun. I would sit in the garage cleaning and re-cleaning his Ducati 900SS. Decades later, the kitchen and the garage are still the only places I want to be.
Contact Info:
- Address: 6119 Edloe Street, Houston, Texas, 77005
- Website: www.pizzamotus.com
- Phone: 832 767 3450
- Email: team@pizzamotus.com
- Instagram: @pizzamotus
Image Credit:
Rebecca Wright
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