Opening Bell
On Reflection: Tutta Bella Brings the Heat
Popular chain makes a big investment in SODO
By Rob Smith November 14, 2023
This article originally appeared in the November/December 2023 issue of Seattle magazine.
Tutta Bella has opened a state-of-the-art Culinary Innovation Hub in the SODO neighborhood.
The popular restaurant chain’s 15,000-square-foot USDA-certified facility will create more than 100 jobs to support the Seattle company’s rapidly expanding grocery and retail business. It features a prep kitchen, production facility, and office space, and will also serve as the company’s new headquarters and research and development lab.
“We’ve made it a long-standing mission to double down on our efforts to reverse the trend of job and business migration out of the city, county, and state,” says Joe Fugere, Tutta Bella’s founder, CEO, and fourth-generation Seattleite. “Our investment stands as a clear symbol of the new fact of food production and manufacturing in SODO.”
Tutta Bella has a longstanding tradition of formally blessing each of its Italian-made ovens based on a centuries-old tradition that began in Italian villages. The three new ovens at the hub are named Filomena, Carolina, and Maria after, respectively, Fugere’s great-grandmother, grandmother, and mother.
Tutta Bella operates five pizza restaurants, two grocery stores, and a food truck. The chain’s retail products are in more than 100 grocery stores across the Puget Sound region.