When Helder Cabrel, co-owner and operator of The Stone Pizza got a call from his friend Matthew Stone about opening a pizza joint, he was skeptical. “I needed a bit of convincing,” Helder admits, “I’d been working in kitchens for most of my life, but I wasn’t sure opening a pizza joint was the right idea.”
It turns out all Helder needed to hear was Matthew’s vision for a new kind of pizza place; one that makes quality pizzas cooked in a stone oven using only the freshest and best ingredients. “Most people think the place is named after Matt, but it’s actually the oven,” Helder says. “It gives the pizzas a classic Italian feel; a little crispy and burnt to really bring out the flavours.”
The location also played a role in Helder’s eagerness to jump into the pizza business. “Around where we are, there isn’t much in the way of Italian-style pizza,” Helder says. “We figured there’d be a demand for it, but didn’t grasp how much. We serve all kinds of people, but we’ve gotten really popular with students in the area especially. They love it in here.”