Food+Drink

They've Got Fire Power

Tutto Bene offers wood-fired pizza on location

Briana Novacek, photos by Andrea Paulseth |

HEAT ON WHEELS. It only takes about five minutes from ordering a Tutto Bene pizza to having it in your hands, since the trailer/oven burns at 900-1,000 degrees.
HEAT ON WHEELS. It only takes about five minutes from ordering a Tutto Bene pizza to having it in your hands, since the trailer/oven burns at 900-1,000 degrees.

When I flew back from my trip to Italy three years ago, I feared I might never taste authentic Italian pizza again. Well thanks to Tutto Bene, Italy has come to Eau Claire. Tutto Bene Wood Fired Pizza is a brand-spankin’ new pizza business that began in April. The name means “It’s All Good” in Italian, a phrase that also translates to a great way to describe their pizza. It seems to have all the things that American pizza is missing: the taste of fresh, simple ingredients; a doughy crust baked to perfection; tomato sauce that’ll make even the hardest hearts like tomatoes; cheese melted just the right way; and a bit of herbs to tie it all up.

Inside the grill, eager flames bake the pizzas to perfection while customers watch the process taking place in front of them.

Tutto Bene is owned by two couples, Eric and Julie Nelson and Tom and Lonnette Breneman, with the Breneman boys – Matthew, Joe, and Marshall – there to help. The couples started the business after several trips to Italy. They wanted to bring the taste of the Italian pizza that they loved back to Eau Claire. Eric Nelson adds that they “do their own thing” and make pizza that is uniquely theirs. They even went so far as to do research in Pompeii to find out the origin of the wood-fired oven.

Right now, Tutto Bene operates as a mobile pizza machine. The wood-fired grill is attached to a trailer on the back of a truck. Inside the grill, eager flames bake the pizzas to perfection while customers watch. It only takes about five minutes from ordering the pizza to having it in your hands, since the oven burns at 900-1,000 degrees. There are typically four or five choices for pizza flavors at each event, and customers can order the pizzas in a personal pan size.

Tutto Bene will be at Phoenix Park every Thursday evening this summer for the Sounds Like Summer Concert Series. On Friday nights, it is outside Coffee Grounds, 3460 Mall Drive, serving pizza. Tutto Bene also caters to other pizza-needing events that crop up.

To learn more, search for “Tutto Bene Wood Fired Pizza” on Facebook or call 715-797-2370.