Visit us at Berkeley! Still open!
SF permanently closed.
Find us on DoorDash & Grub Hub!
Ron. Co-founded Arinell in 1975. Chief baker.
about
Arinell Pizza was co-founded by Ron Demirdjian (see photo above-- the "R" in Arinell Pizza) in 1975. His father and grandfather were both bakers in NYC. Ron learned to make pizza from an Italian pizza-maker in his old neighborhood in upper Manhattan. Upon moving to Berkeley in the 70s and learning there was no NY-style pizza here, he opened up his own joint, and has been here ever since. The store in SF, on Valencia, was opened 1989.
Not much has changed at Arinell since then. The pizzas and dough are hand-made, the toppings are simple, just the way it was in Italy--and NY--in the 70s. Ron thinks an unadulterated cheese pizza is "what Arinell is all about," and if you're at the store, you might hear him say: "the fewer toppings, the better."
