Ribbon-Cutting Officially Opens New 'Prima Margherita' Pizza Cucina & Bar

A ribbon cutting was held at new Des Moines restaurant Prima Margherita Wednesday morning (April 3), with Mayor Dave Kaplan wielding some sharp scissors to commemorate the occasion. As we’ve previously reported, the restaurant is an authentic Neopolitan Pizza Cucina and Bar, serving up pizza and Italian food from real Italians! The authentic, 900-degree pizza oven was built in Italy in three pieces, then it was shipped to Baltimore, where it was assembled. It then made its way across the country to Des Moines, where it was installed by Vince and Peppe (and workers), who were confronted with a unique challenge – how could they get this massive, custom oven inside the building? “We had to cut a big hole around the window here,” Peppe told The Waterland Blog while pointing to a north-facing window (photo below). “We actually removed the window and the bricks to move it inside.” Vince, the owner, compares Des Moines to his hometown Naples, because it’s close to the water. Located in the spot that formerly housed Barnacles, Prima is located at 22636 Marine View Drive S., Des Moines; 206-878-0500. Here’s a mission statement from their website:

Here at Prima Margherita our goal is to bring you an authentic Italian pizzeria experience from my hometown, Naples. We use a 900˚ wood burning Italian built pizza oven and only the finest, freshest ingredients imported from Italy. My restaurant takes it’s name from the Queen of Italy. In 1889, Margherita was traveling through Naples, there a local baker was asked to create a special meal “fit for a Queen” He topped the traditional flat bread with red tomatoes, green basil and white mozzarella cheese to represent the colors of the Italian flag. Her fondness of this new creation was to forever bare her name “Margherita Pizza”. Preserving the traditions of an authentic Pizzeria Napoletana, Prima does not use heat lamps. Your food is made to order and will be coming directly from our kitchen to you, so please understand there may be variations in their arrival times. Buon appetito, Vincenzo

Here are some photos taken by Scott Schaefer at the ribbon cutting: More info at http://primamargherita.com, and be sure to “Like” them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PrimaMargheritas]]>