A View To A Meal
Bella Luna To Bring Wood-Fired Pizza Downtown
Posted: July 6, 2013
Building owner Barry Kelly (left) talks with MB Weld construction crew member Mario Bianchi about the renovations inside 80 W. Water St. on Friday. Kelly plans to transform the space into Bella Luna, a wood-fired pizzeria, as well as commercial and residential space. (Photo by Jason Lenhart)
Wade Luhn, previously a part owner of the Mockingbird Café in downtown Staunton, plans to open Bella Luna Wood-Fired Pizza on West Water Street this fall.
The pizzeria will feature Neapolitan-inspired pies cooked for two minutes in a 900-degree oven, which will be right out on the floor for diners to watch the process.
“It’s kind of pizza as theater,” Luhn said. “It’s an open kitchen. You’ll be able to watch your pizza cook.”
Luhn, 50, of Staunton, sold his share of the Mockingbird, a popular music venue and bar, in 2011. The café closed earlier this year.
Shortly after getting out of the business, Luhn started looking for a place in downtown Harrisonburg to set up shop.
Officials with the revitalization group Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance hooked him up with developer Barry Kelly, who is renovating a building at 80 and 84 W. Water St. that originally served as stables in the 19th century.
In recent years, the building was home to a barbershop and offices.
It’s not clear when the livery was built, Kelly said, but when it was converted for more modern uses, whoever did the job left the original structure in place.
Workers are exposing the original materials as part of the ongoing remodeling project.
“We’ll add some features that will be more in tune of what you might see in a stable environment that will be repurposed for what we’ll be using it for,” Kelly said.
In addition to Bella Luna, the 14,000-square-foot building will have commercial space on the first floor and apartments on the second. Kelly said he does not have another tenant yet for the rest of the commercial space.
The renovation project includes exposing the original archway stable door. It will be open during the day, creating a breezeway that will provide outdoor seating for Bella Luna patrons.
At Bella Luna, Luhn said he’s aiming for an atmosphere that’s not too formal, but not too relaxed, either.
The restaurant’s name means beautiful moon in Italian.
“It’ll be riding the fence between something that’s informal and yet nice enough to be a special occasion place,” he said.
The restaurant will have a monthly music event and space to serve as a community meeting area for lectures and other events. Luhn expects to employ 25 people.
In addition to pizza, Bella Luna will offer appetizers, pasta dishes and sandwiches at lunch using bread baked in the pizza oven. Craft beer, wine and spirits will be available.
“There’ll be enough diversity [on the menu], but I’m a big believer in trying to keep things simple, so … we can do a good job with what we offer,” he said, “in other words, a single-page menu.”
Luhn plans to feature local, seasonal ingredients whenever possible, as people are increasingly interested in knowing where their food comes from.
Mozzarella will be made in-house, as will sausage using meat from local farmers, Luhn said.
And the beauty of the pizza, he says, is in its simplicity.
“We’re going to be using flour, water, salt and yeast, putting it into a 900-degree oven,” he said, “and in two minutes, it’s just kind of a magical thing that happens.”
Contact Jeremy Hunt at 574-6273 or jhunt@dnronline.com
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