Launched during one of the toughest years experienced for restaurants in Central Oregon – Patrick MacCrone (also owner of Verona Signpost Co. LLC) – reached into a new arena for himself by opening Raganelli’s Take & Bake Pizza in Tumalo.
After of many months of business planning, county approvals and purchasing equipment MacCrone cracked the doors on June 17 this past summer.
Starting with a modest menu Raganelli’s has expanded to eleven signature pies, with five new ones coming (including a Philly Cheesesteak & Buddha pizza) as well as calzones, fresh salads, garlic bread sticks and 26 local and regional micro brews and hard ciders – all bottled to go.
Raganelli’s already has expansion plans for the first quarter of 2012 to open a new patio and serve baked slices, full pizzas and beer and wine just a few short steps from the Deschutes River and Tumalo take out spot for floaters of the river.
“Everybody wants a fresh slice for lunch and then when they see the interior of the restaurant … they want to crack a beer and hang out, said MacCrone.
“I figured build it and they will come …. right? Tumalo has a limited number of places to chill after a days work so I started designing the patio idea and it just took off on its own.
“I really got a lot of great help and advice from the boys over at 10 Barrel – Jeremy, Chris, Garrett, Michael and Jon. But my biggest supporter has to be Hans Weiss – former owner Hans Bakery in Bend and icon of the baking region. Hans is a great friend and mentor.
“We have already tweaked our recipes slightly – we now hand toss all our pies, something we didn’t start until November, thus making the crust one of the best around. We use almost exclusively local ingredients whenever possible, the freshest sauce available and then put our own spin on it. You won’t find any frozen dough here! It’s made from scratch each day.”
Raganelli’s is named after Vito Raganelli, MacCrone’s great grandfather who came from Bari, Italy.
Info: 541-647-2343 or stop by 64702 Cook Ave, Tumalo. Open Tues – Sat Noon-8:30pm, Sun – Noon-6pm, closed Mondays.
