“They found out that was a really good therapy for me,” Sanchez said.
Sanchez settled in Columbia following his education there and sought to take every opportunity possible to hone his cooking skills. He got his start at Main Street’s Bourbon, and soon after began moving from restaurant to restaurant, as well as doing pop-ups of his own.
Sanchez said a call from the landlord of the West Columbia building about possibly opening his own place came at the perfect time. He found he was ready to chase his dream of scaling up before it was too late.
For Sanchez, his biggest challenge throughout his culinary career has been working for people, being that he constantly did so as a Marine.
“I was the tip of the spear, you know,” Sanchez said. “I was a grunt.”
He said New Brooklyn Pizza came mainly from a desire to be his own boss and do something he’s proud of.
Sanchez’s affinity for pizza comes in part from his experiences while stationed in Italy, as well as his love for baked goods and the artisan process that comes with making pies. Though he has made a variety of foods throughout his career, his love for pizza has now come full circle.
“I’ve been doing this for a long, long time,” Sanchez said. “I built up a nice reputation for myself.”
What makes great pizza
New Brooklyn Pizza uses a combination of artisan sourdough crusts, fermented dough, San Marzano tomatoes and whole-milk mozzarella in its handcrafted pies, according to its website.
For Sanchez, the dough is what he’s proudest of. His process takes five days to perfect and, unlike some other restaurants, Sanchez said New Brooklyn Pizza stands out in how every item is made from scratch. Menu items like the “Yardbird Pizza” use in-house smoked chicken, while the “State Street Pizza” uses cup-and-char battistoni pepperonis and fresh ricotta.