Pizza Marketplace Podcast

The 4:30 am grind: How a cotton-field startup turned into an artisan pizza empire

In episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, talks to Joe Carlucci, founder and owner of Valentina's Pizzeria & Wine Bar in Alabama. Carlucci, who has dozens of years in pizza, is a member of the World Pizza Champions and a leader in the industry.

March 11, 2026

Carlucci opened Valentina's, named after his daughter, in the midst of COVID. Prior to that, he'd owned a pizza food truck and would take it to neighborhoods to provide pizzas to neighborhoods during the COVID lockdowns. He would sell more than 500 pizzas a week, and saved every dime to open his brick-and-mortar restaurant.

What started in a 1,500-square-foot space with 12 employees has turned into a 196-seat, 50-plus-staffed full-service restaurant. The original location was across the street from a cotton field. Carlucci would arrive at 4:30 a.m. and make pizzas throughout the day. He's since moved to a larger location and has trained a handful of pizzaiolos whom he trusts to make the brand's signature pies. He sources as much as he can locally.

Carlucci has entered and won several awards at the International Pizza Challenge at International Pizza Expo. When he creates a new pizza, though, it isn't with judges in mind — instead he thinks about the customers first. But when his pizza creations win awards, he puts them on the menu. It's been a great advertising outlet for Carlucci.

Carlucci hired a mixologist to pair signature cocktails with his artisan pizzas, so there's a craft cocktail list, and curated beer and wine lists.

"I want to elevate this place. I don't want it to just be a pizzas place. ... It's not a pizza place. From the hostesses dresses to the bartenders in bow ties, to every single server, looks the exact same way," Carlucci said. "The standard is the standard here. We're not worried about what everybody else is doing. We're worried about what Valentina's is doing. How Valentina's could be better."

To learn more about how Carlucci is changing the pizza game, listen to the podcast in its entirety.