V Pizza: Preparation makes for a smooth take-out transition during COVID-19

V Pizza general manager Jonathan Raspperry in front of "La Palude," one of the restaurant's two wood-fired pizza ovens from Italy. atV Pizza.

Downtown Spotlight

Mainstreet Daily News, in a collaboration with Noel Leroux, founder of Gainesville Downtown, is spotlighting downtown businesses to learn how each one is coping with the ever-evolving COVID-19 situation. 

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  V Pizza, 115 SE 1st St., has two wood-fired pizza ovens made in Italy. One is named “Amore” and the other “La Palude.” Translated into English, it means “Love the Swamp.” (Go Gators!)

Those ovens are continuing to bake pizzas at 900 degrees in 90 seconds to serve customers during the COVID-19 scare.

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The pizzeria, on the ground floor of Hampton Inn & Suites Gainesville Downtown, is accepting takeout orders daily 11 a.m.-9 p.m. The phone number is 352.888.7533. Online orders can be placed at vpizza.com. Curbside pickup is an option.

The full menu includes pizza, stromboli, calzones, wings, sandwiches, salads, desserts and, beginning immediately, complete family pasta meals starting at $45. V Pizza also has beer, wine and cocktails to-go.

“Everything has been coming at us very quickly and we’ve had to adjust,” said Jonathan Raspperry, V Pizza’s general manager. “Every day we get new marching orders, so we’re taking it day to day.”

He said V Pizza prepared early by stocking up on pizza boxes and other to-go items. “Being prepared is a big part of this,” he said. Although the restaurant has had to temporarily lay off more than a dozen workers due to reduced business, every current and former employee gets a meal to take home each day. “I take my staff personally,” Raspperry said. “They are my team and I could not do this without them.”

About the Author

Noel Leroux is the publisher of gainesvilledowntown.com, a website dedicated to covering all things downtown. His mission is to inform, entertain and engage readers with compelling articles about arts, entertainment, and the foodie scene in Gainesville.

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