STOCKTON, Calif. — It's a busy day for the owners of Stockton's newest wood-fired pizza restaurant, Fired Pizza.
In less than 24 hours, Sarah and Daniel Correa will finish expanding their food truck into a restaurant by cutting a ribbon and hosting a Saturday grand opening.
It's been a five-year-long entrepreneurial journey, but for Stockton natives Sarah and Daniel, their love is what sparked the fire that keeps their wood-burning stove at 900 degrees.
"My wife had put herself through college and got this really great career that she got started, she started commuting to Sacramento. I was working all the time, all over the place," said Daniel who previously worked in a sales job. "The little time we'd spend, we'd always spend making food together."
It was during a trip to Amador County that the idea was born to turn the couple's cooking hobby into a side business.
Daniel says the two saw a mobile catering trailer at a winery and the idea immediately clicked. In 2018, the couple bought their first wood-fired oven directly from Italy.
"It was like camping every time we went to an event. It was not glamorous," said Sarah. "This has been a genuine recommitment and reinvestment into our dream and our way of doing things and it's really paid off."
As one of the first food trucks to offer wood-fired, Neapolitan-style pizzas in the Stockton area, Daniel and Sarah enjoyed early success. Their traveling business quickly became a staple at San Joaquin County breweries and local events.
"Once we had our Instagram and we got our pizzas out there, it was nonstop," said Daniel. "From June to September, it was light business and then September on, it just never stopped."
The success did not come without challenges from broken axles on their trailer while on the way to catering events to constant anxiety before events over whether they brought all their ingredients with them.
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, many of the anxieties for Daniel and Sarah reached a turning point.
"Once COVID hit, I lost my job. My company dissolved like many others and I went full-time with this food truck," said Daniel. "A lot of businesses struggled, but we actually thrived because we were instantaneously to-go food while everyone else was having to pivot."
Two years later, when a restaurant space opened up in north Stockton, the couple knew it was time to expand in their hometown.
"We really made intentional choices to stay local and stay true to our neighborhood and where we're at. We really believe in the community of Stockton," said Sarah. "You have to act really locally and that's what we've done. We've been offered to do events in Tahoe and you know, we could be millionaires if we were willing to do events in San Francisco."
For Daniel, the hometown love is the same.
"We've traveled a lot and we still choose to live in Stockton," said Daniel. "We love Stockton and like Sarah said, we really chose to put our money where our mouth is by investing in our community, and really growing within our local roots."
After investing in the space at 678 Grider Way in Aug. 2022, Daniel and Sarah embarked on a year-long project to make the building feel more like home.
They also aimed to make the business representative of the valley by partnering with local farmers for produce and local wineries and breweries for wine and beer.
"Every single thing in this building has been touched by us. Mostly Daniel, I held flashlights and cheered him along the way," said Sarah. "It feels like people are in our living room."
Located miles away from most of Stockton's prominent shopping and dining districts, some would say Fired Pizza is off the beaten path, but for Daniel and Sarah it's not a bad thing.
"We have a corrugated metal building that might not be the prettiest from outside, but once you're inside, it's beautiful and it's gorgeous," said Daniel. "Anyone who comes to our restaurant has to drive here. There's no off-the-street traffic, so everyone who walks in our doors wants to be here. They have a purpose here and we really respect that and understand that so we try to treat everyone like family."
Sarah and Daniel are hoping more people will walk through their doors this weekend. They plan to host a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony at noon Saturday.
After the official inaugural weekend, Fired Pizza will be open Wednesday through Sunday from 4-8 p.m.
Reflecting on the half-decade journey to cut a ribbon in front of their own restaurant, Sarah and Daniel are left with a message for the community.
"I'm really excited that we were able to take a space that wasn't being utilized to its highest and best potential and bringing it to that highest and best use," said Sarah. "I think Stockton has a lot of opportunity for that, for people that are willing to take that risk."
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