I don’t expect a culinary epiphany from an Italian restaurant in a little strip mall in Woodland Park. But start to finish, that’s what I get. Roberto Calcagno grew up in the Genoa region of northwest Italy before eventually landing in Colorado Springs.

In 2018, he opened the Neapolitan pizzeria Basil and Barley, where he introduced his customers to the charcoal pizza crust. In the aftermath of the 2020 shutdowns, Calcagno got out of the restaurant business.