Instagram page<\/a> but no website; online ordering and expanded hours on the way, they say. (To order now, customers must call or text 817-374-9703.)<\/p>\nA Fort Worth legacy
Azemi comes from a long line of restaurateurs who helped shape Fort Worth\u2019s Italian dining scene. As a teenager, he swept floors and bussed tables at Ruffino\u2019s Italian, a beloved local institution he would later help run alongside his father, Franco Albanese, and uncle, Bobby Albanese. \u201cThis is where I learned the business,\u201d Azemi says. \u201cIt\u2019s in my DNA.\u201d<\/p>\n
The family\u2019s culinary legacy spans several well-known local spots, including Fizzi, Ciao, Red Door Bistro, Picchi Pacchi, and Piola. When Ruffino\u2019s closed in 2011, Azemi knew he would one day return to Fort Worth to lead a restaurant of his own.<\/p>\n
He left Texas to attend the French Culinary Institute in New York City, where he trained under Bradford Thompson, a James Beard Award winner and Food & Wine Best Chef Southwest. Over the next decade, Azemi refined his craft in some of NYC’s top kitchens, gaining experience in both fine dining and traditional pizzerias. It was during this time that he started to form the concept for a neighborhood pizza shop grounded in simplicity, authenticity, and expert technique.<\/p>\n
Ozzi\u2019s eventually took shape after Azemi, his wife, and young son moved back home to Texas during the pandemic. \u201cI was inspired to launch a pizza shop in Fort Worth because I missed my late-night walks in New York after work, when I could just grab a slice,\u201d Azemi says.<\/p>\n
But he didn\u2019t do it alone. Azemi credits the success of the shop to a tight-knit group of collaborators: mentors, chefs, and industry friends who became true partners.<\/p>\n
\u201cOzzi\u2019s wouldn\u2019t have happened without Bradford Thompson, who is a father figure and my best friend,\u201d he says. \u201cWe talk several times a day. We are very much each other\u2019s sounding boards.\u201d <\/p>\n
He also worked closely with Mark Fiorentino, aka \u201cThe Baker,\u201d known for his time at three-Michelin-starred Restaurant Daniel in Manhattan and for his global consulting work on bread and dough fermentation. <\/p>\n
Space to grow
Inside the minimalist space, pizza is made in plain sight. An open kitchen gives customers a clear view of the process, from stretching the dough to pulling pies from the oven. Azemi wanted guests to see who is cooking their food, talk to them, and engage.<\/p>\n
\u201cNew York slice shops have this open feel, and I wanted that here,” he says. “It\u2019s important that our customers get hospitality and we make this home for them and not just a transaction.\u201d<\/p>\n
That neighborly ethos extends beyond the counter. Azemi lives right across the street from the pizza shop.<\/p>\n
\u201cI walk to and from work every single day,” he says. “I can pick my kid up from school and still have my eyes on the restaurant at all times. It made perfect business sense.”<\/p>\n
The operation, currently open Tuesday to Sunday from 3-9 pm, has big plans bubbling beneath that flour-dusted surface. The team is hiring, working on a full menu, and taking things step by step.<\/p>\n
\u201cSoon we will be open Mondays \u2026 eventually we\u2019ll have full hours and be open late night on weekends,” Azemi says. “Customers will be able to order online, but we didn\u2019t want the train to get away from us.\u201d<\/p>\n
For now, things stay lean by design. Ozzi\u2019s is laser-focused on quality over variety, with slow, deliberate growth on the horizon.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe star of the show is pizza,” Azemi says. “I wanted to control the volume, which is why we said no tables and chairs in the beginning. But they are coming, and we may get our beer and wine license. We plan to have soft serve ice cream in the summer.”<\/p>\n
Azemi says he’s excited to carve his own pizza niche in a city hungry for food that’s authentic and elevated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a lot of great pizza around, and there is room for all of us,” he says. “We are doing our own thing and having a good time.\u201d<\/p>\n