Now open: PizzaCraft Artisan Pizzeria and Apothecary 330 in Fort Lauderdale

What do a Bentley and pizza have in common? Usually nothing, but as PizzaCraft Artisan Pizzeria's Chef Bret Hauser puts it, the common denominator between a PizzaCraft pie and a Bentley is the way they're made: by hand in an artisanal fashion.

"I don't even have a freezer in my kitchen," Hauser said. "I don't buy pasta either. It's against my religion. My grandmother would roll over in her grave."


Family has a major impact on PizzaCraft's brand. Many of the Italian-style dishes served, like the Sunday Gravy ($28), offered Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, are original recipes from Hauser's grandma, or as he affectionately refers to her, his "Nonna." And the PizzaCraft concept itself drew inspiration from co-owner Marc Falsetto's father.

"Pizza is dear to my heart," Falsetto explained at the grand opening on Thursday, Oct. 15. "My dad's born in Italy, and I grew up with Italian food."

Step inside the relaxed atmosphere and suddenly you feel like you're in Brooklyn. There are two oversized booths lined against the white subway-tiled wall, with more rustic, metal seating throughout. If you sit by the pizza oven, you can get a dinner and show, watching the pizza makers quickly kneed and toss the dough before lathering it with house-made mozzarella cubes, Italian-imported tomatoes and herbs from the rooftop garden. Then it's thrown in the wood-burning oven as your mouth is left watering. The wait is well worth it for these chef-driven pizzas, like Carbonara ($21), Fennel Sausage ($20) and the Spicy Soppressata ($21).

To the right of the open kitchen, is a red and white wall dubbed the "Mozzarella Wall." Slide it open and you're transported to a 1920s speakeasy. The lights are dim, the walls are dark and you're now inside Apothecary 330.

This classy cocktail den doesn't serve food, though you can place an order while sitting at the bar. They offer over 300 whiskeys and 100-something bourbons, all of which are housed on multiple shelves behind the bar. Watching the bar chefs climb the golden ladder to grab bottles is like a scene straight out of "Beauty and the Beast," but instead of watching Belle slide the ladder across the multi-leveled shelves to reach a book, these bartenders are searching for the perfect spirit for your beverage.

Apothecary 330 serves classic and vintage cocktails like the Old Fashioned which combines sugar with bitters, whiskey or brandy and a fruit garnish, the New Orleans Sazerac, using Peychaud's bitters, Herbsaint liquor, sugar and Cognac or rye whiskey and true margaritas but they've also created Himmarshee Elixirs, which are modern interpretations of those drinks as well as other whimsical cocktails.

Still can't find the taste you're after? Those behind Apothecary's bar will craft something unique to soothe you, much like apothecaries did in the early 1900s.

"Before you had a pharmacist or your doctor or your bartender," general manager Scott Kurzawinski described, "you went and saw your apothecary. So if you had a cold, they could fix that remedy. … And they used different products – fresh herbs, spices – to be able to mix things on the spot. So that's what we kind of play off of as far as our chefs behind the bar, using local, seasonal ingredients, taking on different spirits."

Though Apothecary 330 doesn't require a password, 250 hand-selected "Taste Makers" throughout Fort Lauderdale will be given a gold elite membership coin, which will allow them to attend exclusive tastings and events. Taste Makers typically are frequent customers or others in the food services industry. For anyone else who'd like to become one, he or she may ask management.

Kurzawinski says the membership coin is for "anybody that's going to come in and actually appreciate the different fine spirits that [they] have." Though he adds, " we're walking people through the building every single day, so it's not like it's completely exclusive, it's just an extra privilege for some of our valued customers."


PizzaCraft Artisan Pizzeria and Apothecary 330 are now open, 330 SW Himmarshee St., in Fort Lauderdale. Call 954-616-8028 or go to