Popular Fort Myers pizzeria reopens to the delight of pizza lovers
The Aguila family was almost to Uncle Rico’s, their pizzeria in Fort Myers on Sunday, Jan. 22.
“We were open all day Saturday,” said Cira Aguila, who was driving husband Enrico, aka Uncle Rico, and their kids Javier, 15, and Sarah, 12. “Sunday we were on our way here when a driver ran a red light just outside of the restaurant.”
The resulting crash put the family out of commission and business for the next two months.
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“We had multiple fractures and had to heal,” Cira said. “(Enrico) hurt his ribs and arm and he makes the pizzas. But we’ve been blessed. This community has been amazing.”
'We are very, very thankful'
Uncle Rico’s was finally able to reopen on Friday, March 31, and pizza lovers showed up in droves.
“Our first day back we sold out of everything at 6 p.m.,” Cira said. “We are very, very thankful.”
“The dough is very complex,” said Enrico, who previously owned pizzerias in Clermont and Hollywood, Florida. “It takes 82 hours to ferment so it’s easy on the stomach. We had more dough, but it just wasn’t ready. It has to be mature.”
That dough is one of the reasons Uncle Rico’s landed at No. 57 on Yelp’s just-released list of top 100 Florida restaurants.
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Everything is homemade ― either by Enrico or Cira, who does desserts. Her tiramisu has a shot of Cafe Bustelo espresso, giving it a Cuban kick.
“Customers love it,” Cira said. “It’s my favorite dessert.”
Every day, you can find Enrico in the back making pizza.
“It’s an art form,” he said of making pizza and bread.
Uncle Rico's opened in 2022
He puts his decades of experience into all he does. He took a 10-year break from owning restaurants before opening Uncle Rico’s ― near the intersection of Hanson Street and Cleveland Avenue ― on March 22, 2022.
In that decade, he was the head pizza maker at Two Meatballs in the Kitchen in south Fort Myers and The Saucy Meatball in Gateway.
One of his most popular pies is the Drunken Uncle, a square pizza with fresh mozzarella, vodka sauce and fresh basil. There’s also the Angry Uncle, also square but with mozzarella, Ezzo pepperoni, fresh basil and Mike’s Hot Honey.
Other than those two and a classic cheese square, all pizzas are round, including the crowd-pleasing half/half specialty pizza and the Benny Blanco ― a white pizza (fresh mozzarella, ricotta, fresh garlic) with Ezzo pepperoni, fresh basil and Corto olive oil.
Daily deals until 3 o'clock
Lunch specials, served daily until 3 p.m., include a cheese ($3) or pepperoni ($3.50) slice or two slices and a drink ($6 for cheese, toppings are 50 cents more per item).
Appetizers (think garlic knots and pepperoni rolls), subs (sausage and peppers, meatball, eggplant and chicken parmigiana), calzones, strombolis and salads are also available.
“We are so happy to be back,” said Cira.
Uncle Rico’s Pizza, 2960 Cleveland Ave. in Fort Myers, is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. Dine-in, take-out and curbside pickup are available. Call (239) 362-0083 to place an order or for more information. Online ordering and delivery through Slice. Log on to unclericospizza239.com for more.
Robyn George is a community content editor and food writer for The Fort Myers News-Press. Send scoops and news to rhgeorge@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Open again: Community welcomes back popular Fort Myers pizzeria
