This Banker Dropped Everything to Open a Neapolitan Pizzeria in Northeast LA

A wood-fired Neapolitan-inspired pizzeria will soon open in the cozy Eastside cove of El Sereno. Fahrenheit LA comes from first-time restaurant owner John McLellan, and should open by the end of March, according to The Eastsider.

Eater spoke with McClellan about the menu, which offers both traditional and more seasonally-oriented pies, like the summer-based zucchini pizza or peaches with balsamic vinegar. McLellan orders his flour direct from Italy, and even found a gluten-free one that matches his standards.

Born in Boyle Heights, McLellan is a former banker who toiled away at Wells Fargo, J.P. Morgan Chase, and Citibank, before quitting his job in 2013. He then started a catering business with a portable brick pizza oven. During his search for a brick and mortar space, McClellan found the shuttered Cafecito and signed a lease. Future plans include a dog-friendly patio, with plenty of space to park Fahrenheit’s traveling wood-fired oven for catering gigs.

The buildout commenced in January and already the team has installed a Forno-Bravo pizza oven. McLellan does mention two nearby pizza shops could be perceived as competition, but says, “Dough Boys and Blazing Stone are excellent at what they do.” He continues, “we take the tenets of Neapolitan pizza, with high temperatures and fresh ingredients, but we do crazy stupid things that don’t fall into traditional. We frame it in the mindset of what LA would like, since LA is willing to try all sorts of things.”

Fahrenheit LA
4726 S. Huntington Drive
Los Angeles, CA

• Traveling pizza maker finds a brick-and-mortar home in El Sereno [Eastsider]
• Inside the Sunny New Eastside Home of LA’s Best Deep Dish Pizza [ELA]
• Blazing Stone Pizza Brings All-Day Slices to Underserved El Sereno [ELA]