Franchise Natural For Lifelong Pizza Fan

Bill Gilane says Figaro's offers gourmet pizzas and lots of toppings.

SAN JACINTO (Saturday, August 25, 2007) - Bill Gilane says he has always loved pizza.

As a kid, he ate a lot of it.

“My parents would tell me, ‘You'll have a pizza parlor someday,'” Gilane said, smiling.

Although Gilane, a sales representative for a flooring distributor, never thought he'd own a pizza parlor, he did check out a pizza franchise.

That franchise was Figaro's Pizza, based in Salem, Ore.

Gilane said he was impressed with what the 25-year-old company had to offer and considered it a good investment. So Gilane bought a Figaro's Pizza franchise in San Jacinto and opened it in June. His daughter, Adrienne, and wife, Vera, manage it.

Gilane said Figaro's uses real cheese, not imitation, and low-fat pepperoni, which is non-greasy. They also make their own dough.

The dough is not tossed, but rather cold-pressed through a machine before it goes in a cooler.

“We make the dough, which has to be in a cooler (at 35 degrees) for 12 hours (before we can take it out of the cooler),” Adrienne said. “When we take it out, that's when it really rises.”

Figaro's also use fresh ingredients on its pizzas, including tomatoes, peppers, and onions.

“We have someone here to chop the vegetables and someone here to make the dough,” Adrienne said.

Figaro's menu not only includes pizza, but calzones, breadsticks, chicken wings, and salads.

They have a children's menu too. The pizzas come decorated with happy faces, using olives or pepperoni for the eyes, nose, and mouth.

Adrienne says Figaro's is better than other pizza shops because they sell gourmet pizzas and have a large selection of pizza toppings. “We have more toppings and more gourmet pizzas, like our creamy garlic pizza and fajita pizza with salsa,” she said.

Adrienne says her favorite is the barbecue chicken pizza.

Although Gilane says he grew up eating pepperoni pizza, his tastes have changed.

“I like a lot of everything (now), including the creamy garlic pizza,” he said.

Other specialty pizzas include Papa's Favorite, which has pepperoni, Canadian bacon, beef, sausage, and salami; and the Santa Fe Chicken, topped with chicken, pineapple, onions, and tomatoes on a barbecue sauce.

Gilane said he prides himself on the fact that they don't skimp when it comes to pizza toppings.

“We always give good-sized portions,” said Gilane, adding that a large pepperoni pizza is topped with 50 slices of pepperoni.

“They (pepperonis) go piece-to-piece, wall-to-wall,” Gilane said.

Their pizzas also come in “take” or “bake.”

“People can either purchase it here and bake it when they get home, or we can bake it for them,” Gilane said.

Inside the shop are several tables and chairs for people to dine at.

Figaro's also delivers.

And, to top his plans off, Gilane says he will open a Figaro's in Beaumont. He also plans to open a couple more stores in the San Jacinto Valley, as well as in Banning and Calimesa.

THE BASICS

Name: Figaro's Pizza

Owner: Bill Gilane

Address: 2241 W. Esplanade Ave., San Jacinto

Phone: 654-4888

Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday

View all Figaro's Pizza Press Releases

This article has been read 179 times.

Printer Friendly