Brian Nittayo grew up in Arcadia, California, a suburb 5 miles east of Pasadena. After graduating from Arcadia High School in 1996, he decided to study Hotel Management at Cal Poly Pomona to get a foothold on a budding interest. While in school, Brian was first drawn to the food business, working at an Outback Steakhouse for 5 years, but yearned for something more. Once he graduated from Cal Poly Pomona, Brian worked at one of the finest hotels in the country, the Ritz Carlton in Pasadena, California. The world would change tremendously, however, with the tragic events of 9/11 so Brian knew having a business of his own would someday be his greatest adventure. Brian's father, who was in retirement at the time, wanted to start a new business with Brian so the 2 of them opened a Cold Stone Creamery from 2002-2009, hoping that being a part of a well established franchise would teach them more about the food business. Brian's dad and he chose the location because they saw that it was in a busy strip mall with a lot of foot traffic. People working nearby and families frequented the area often for ice cream, but Brian's real passion was in pizza.

He decided it was time to learn the craft from one of the best in the business so he traveled to San Francisco to study the art of Napolitano Pizza from 13 time world pizza champion, Tony Gemignani. Once he came back to his hometown, Brian knew it was time for him to open up his own pizza restaurant that was conceptually designed around New York's "pizza by the slice" dynamic. Thus, Rose City Pizza was born and opened in July of 2009, around the corner from their old ice cream shop and in the same shopping plaza. Brian saw an opportunity to open a pizza shop with slices as the focal point, but as a result, it has evolved a lot since then. They still offer slices but just for lunch these days because Rose City Pizza has become known for their whole pizza creations. Their Mexican fusion pizzas such as the Elote and Al Pastor have become some of the most popular pies on the menu. Brian decided to make unique pizza creations because he was tired of Rose City Pizza being compared to other local pizzerias that offered similar pies. Creating their signature menu has been a lot of fun and is always ever changing. Check out their latest dish, a Grilled Cheese Lasagna, along with Dog Friendly Pizzas as well as Game of Thrones inspired pizzas and wings. At Rose City Pizza, all of your pizza dreams can now become a reality!

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