Authentic Italian family-run pizza company, operating from mobile truck, hopes to continue thriving this year

An authentic Italian pizza company, which operates from a mobile truck, hopes to continue going from strength to strength this year.

Nonna Lucia’s Pizza, a family-run business, attends pop ups, weddings, parties, and private hire events in Northamptonshire and beyond.

It is now run by father and daughter duo Daniella and Salvatore Oppido, from Abington, but was originally set up by Daniella’s brother and cousin in May 2020.

Daniella said: “Cooking is so important in our family. The business was named after our grandmother, who brought cooking into all of our lives.”

With other projects on the side for the business founders, it was May last year that Daniella took over – and her father joined her in December.

“The business has been really popular,” said the 26-year-old. “People are always surprised by what proper Italian pizza tastes like, and we’ve surprised ourselves with how the business has continued to grow.”

Through operating from a mobile food truck that is always on the go, this has made the authentic family business more accessible – particularly to those in villages and elderly individuals.

She said: “Everyone likes that we’re all about family, and it’s only our family members who have ever worked in the van.

“Our products also replicate what you would be served in Italy.”

The Oppido family’s proudest achievement has been how Nonna Lucia’s has gone from “strength to strength” and more people are now familiar with the business.

They recently attended a pop up food, drink and entertainment event, hosted by The Big Local at the start of February, and were “humbled” to learn people had travelled from Milton Keynes specifically to try their pizzas.

With success always comes challenges and the biggest difficulty Nonna Lucia’s has had to contend with is the extreme weather conditions.

“Our dough depends on temperature and there is so much science behind it,” said Daniella. “People don’t realise how much the extreme hot and cold impacts what we do.”

With more weddings and pop up events booked in, including The Big Local again in April and Tollyfest in July, Daniella hopes they can continue building on their success this year.

To find out more about Nonna Lucia’s Pizza, visit their Facebook page here.