ONTARIO — Ohio’s first Firenza Pizza opened earlier this week at 2074 Walker Lake Rd. in Ontario.
Mansfield couple and restaurant owners, Oge Ozamma and Uchenna Ezike celebrated its grand opening Thursday, Nov. 1 with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
The two decided to bring the franchise to Richland County after trying it in Virginia.
“It was a little different than pizzas I’ve tried before, and it made me excited to go into business,” Oge Ozamma Ezike said.
Firenza pizzas can be cooked within approximately three minutes inside an 800-degree, rotating stone oven. They are made with homemade dough from imported Italian flour, sauce from California vine-ripened tomatoes and the “purest, cleanest cheese in the industry,” according to Dave Baer, president and co-founder of the chain.
Baer had owned multiple Domino’s Pizzas in Northern Virginia until about six years ago, when he decided to go in a different direction.
“We sold all of our restaurants and got into some other restaurant concepts, but we really missed pizza, so just over three years ago, we started this company,” Baer said.
When the Ezikes approached him with the notion to open a Firenza Pizza in Ohio, he came to the area to look at locations alongside the couple.
“We spent the day looking at real estate last spring and fell in love with this spot,” Baer said.
There are now more than 20 locations across the United States.
Oge Ozamma and Uchenna Ezike were both born in Nigeria and came to the United States so Uchenna could finish his education. They ultimately moved to Mansfield for a job opportunity and a chance to raise their family in a small city.
“We were looking for a place to settle down, have children — a family-friendly place — so he got offers different places, but we came down here and I liked it. It’s small, quiet for a family,” Oge Ozamma said.
The couple have five children. Uchenna Ezike will continue to work as a doctor, and Oge Ozamma will manage the restaurant.
