One of Huntsville’s best pizzerias opening another location

South Huntsville dining is getting delt an ace.

Mozza Pizza , which quickly became one of the city's best pizzerias since opening its 520 Jordan Lane N.W. restaurant in 2023, is working on their second Huntsville location, at 8404 Logan Drive.

The SoHu space was formerly home to a Chinese restaurant. It's located at a small, long-running strip mall anchored by a Kroger grocery.

"We were getting a lot of customers asking us to please open a location in south Huntsville," says Mozza co-owner/operator Thomas Quijada. "They wanted something closer to their homes. We found the right spot that we liked, and we decided to go for it."

Quijada says Mozza hopes to open its south Huntsville pizzeria around November.

They were drawn to the Logan Drive location by the traffic already there due to the Kroger. They liked the visibility of the space being the closest to Logan and the entrance to the strip mall, too.

"Here on Jordan Lane, we're a little bit hidden within the [Preston] Plaza," Quijada says. He says they were also drawn to the Logan Drive space because, "it's very close to everything in south Huntsville."

South Huntsville is home to some local food standouts, including the food trailer Salt + Light food truck ; Bubby's retro diner ; Cap's Philly Cheesesteaks , and the steakhouse Nick's Ristorante

But in general, that part of the city doesn't get the amount of new and interesting restaurants hotpots like downtown and west Huntsville do. That said, there have been promising recent years additions, including Madison-founded upscale eatery Tom Brown Restaurant 's at the Hays Farm development.

South Huntsville isn't hip or posh, but it's a good place to live. It's where I grew up. And compared to housing costs in some other areas of the city, it's still relatively affordable to live in south Huntsville.

Mozza Pizza fits that profile. In addition to serving delicious, no-nonsense New York style pizza, the prices are high value, especially amid swollen 2024 dining out costs.

"We try to be fair with our prices," Quijada says. "That's the way it's supposed be. Pizza isn't supposed to be a fancy thing. It's supposed to be something for everyone, to make everyone happy."

Around 2022, Quijada and his cousins and fellow New York State expatriates Tino Duarte and Marlon Salazar took over ownership of Athens' Mozza Pizza, a restaurant that had been open for around six years, about a 40-minute drive from Huntsville.

At that Athens location, 202 S. Jefferson St., they changed the dough recipe many times before achieving authentic New York crust. Thin and foldable. Chewy, yet delicately crispy in the right places.

New York's unusually soft tap-water, which can impart a saltier taste and strengthen the gluten in dough , is oft-cited as why replicating NY's famed pizza and bagels elsewhere can be elusive.

"The water in New York is very different from the water down here," Quijada told me in 2023. "It changes the flavor."

Previously, Duarte made pizzas for around 15 years at Harrison, N.Y. eatery Pizza 2000. To conjure New York crust with Alabama water at Mozza, they adjusted the temperature of the water used to make the dough. The right brand of flour and making the dough and sauce from scratch is also essential, according Quijada.

After living in Huntsville for around six years, Quijada, formerly a manager at a diner here, saw a void of authentic New York pizza. He convinced Duarte and Salazar to come to Huntsville to change that.

In addition to whole pies, Mozza does pizza by-the-slice and a buffet. They also serve calzones, calamari, strombolis, spaghetti and meatballs, baked ziti, cannoli, etc. Full menu and more info at bit.ly/mozzapizza .

The guest capacity for Mozza's south Huntsville location, which adds Quijada's uncle Eladia Monroy to ownership, will be around 100. The staff will number around a dozen, Quijada says.

There's a new wrinkle.

Monroy, who previously worked at Greek restaurants in New York, is helming an embedded concept, Rella Gyro, inside the south Huntsville space. So in addition to the Mozza menu, expect gyros, stuffed flounder, spinach pie, pastitsio (aka Greek lasagna,) moussaka and Greek chicken.

"We wanted to offer more options for Greek food in Huntsville," Quijada says, "because there's not too many, especially a non-chain restaurant, something family owned."

The name Rella was chosen as it's the omega to Mozza's alpha - a nod to pizza-prevalent mozzarella cheese. If the Rella Gyro embedded at Mozza takes off, Quijada says they might spin that concept off to a separate location.

Mozza Jordan Lane recently celebrated it's one-year anniversary. The reception to their first Huntsville location has left ownership humbled. Quijada says, "We are very, very thankful for everyone that's supported us by coming in, keep supporting us, and by telling us how to make it better."