Q&A: From Italy to Your Plate Take a Bite of MidiCi Miami with Jose Mendez
MidiCi Miami The Neapolitan Pizza Company from World Red Eye Films on Vimeo.
Miami, FL – March 16, 2018 – World Red Eye got behind the scenes with MidiCi Miami to bring the taste of true Neapolitan Pizza straight from Italy right to the heart of Midtown Miami. Venezuelan native Jose Mendez, dove into the food industry alongside his brothers in 2010 when they first started the franchise business with Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt. Now the restaurateur has set out his sights on MidiCi Miami. MidiCi’s certified pizzaiolos (pizza makers) select fresh, natural, high quality, mostly non-GMO high quality ingredients so guests can create their ideal Neapolitan Pizza in the open, center-staged bustling kitchen. Everything MidiCi serves stays true to Neapolitan heritage, with most ingredients sourced straight from Italy, such as crushed non-GMO Italian peeled tomatoes, fresh whole mozzarella and non-GMO, Italian extra virgin cold-pressed olive oil. MidiCi serves everything from of course Neapolitan Pizza, to meatballs, burrata and prosciutto, salads, and no meal is complete without dessert and Mendez’s favorite signature Nutella Calzone. Although Mendez has a German back ground, he finds lot of similarities in the Italian and Venezuelan cultures therefore, inspiring him to to open the first MidCi location in Miami.
Jose Mendez
WRE: Tell us a bit about yourself?
JM: I’m a 33 year old entrepreneur from Venezuela, I moved to Orlando in 2003. I graduated from UCF with a bachelors degree in Civil Engineering in 2009, then moved to Miami in 2010 to open my first franchise location called Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt, later in 2015 my brothers and I opened our second location. Additionally, my brothers and I are also involved in the construction industry as general contractors and have built several multimillion dollar projects.
Jose Mendez
WRE: What inspired your family to open MidiCi?
JM: Basically the CEO of Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt came up with the idea of starting a true Neapolitan Pizza franchise, so when they opened the first MidiCi location in Sherman Oaks, California, my brother and I went to visit the store. We basically fell in love with the concept and the product, that is when we decided to bring MidiCi to Miami. MidiCi is the first store of two more we plan to open within the next couple of years.
WRE: Does Midici have locations in Florida?
JM: Yes, MidiCi has locations across Florida in Estero, Fort Lauderdale, Kissimmee, Daytona, and West Palm Beach.
WRE: What influenced you to bring MidiCi from LA and to Miami, specifically in Midtown?
JM: Well, since we already had business roots here in Miami with our Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt shops and our construction company, we thought it would be a great idea to expand our business and include MidiCi. As far as why my brothers and I decided to open a location in Midtown, was because it’s an area that is growing rapidly, we loved the location, and within a couple of years there will be three new high rise residential buildings within walking distance from our store.
WRE: What makes MidiCi stand out from other pizzerias?
JM: MidiCi has a clear mission and vision, “We want to bring friends together because people are the best thing the can happen to anyone” that is why we are different. Our concept started with a “why” not just a product like any other company does starts with, we focus on people, starting with out MidiCi’s team friends, because we don’t have employees, we have team friends. MidiCi’s focus is on people, we’re trying to make the world a friendlier place by creating memories and connections with our guests.
Jose Mendez
We love people. They move us, shape us, excite us and inspire us. We believe people are the best thing that can happen to anyone. That’s why we created MidiCi.
Jose Mendez
WRE: What makes MidiCi’s authentic Neapolitan pizza different from the rest?
JM: Neapolitan pizza it’s the original pizza; it was created more than 300 years ago. The dough is stretch by hand to create a thin pizza with a crispy rim. MidiCi brings traditional Italian pizza to Miami.
WRE: What is MidiCi’s motto?
JM: People are the best thing that can happen to anyone we love people. They move us, shape us, excite us and inspire us. We believe people are the best thing that can happen to anyone. That’s why we created MidiCi.We wanted a place for people to meet up, sit back and be social without the media. Because we believe it is moments we remember, not days, not posts, not pictures. While we love today’s digital world for the connections it allows us to have with people we wish to know, we found ourselves missing the friends we do know. Everything we do is designed to support our mission. From our food, to our natural tree, the heart surrounding our special wood-fired ovens, the tables, our design, and even the Vittoria prosciutto slicer, and the Athena espresso machine. Together, it’s an experience that creates real human connections.
WRE: As for the food, are all ingredients sourced from Italy?
JM: Yes, most of our ingredients come straight from Italy, specifically Naples. We bring our non-GMO double zero flour, is demanded by maestri pizzaioli all over the world over and recognized by the leading Neapolitan pizza certifications associations. Caputo “00” flour is ideal for pizza dough for two reasons: one, it’s finely ground, and two, it has a lower gluten content than most flours. The “00” refers to the texture of the flour: Italian flours are classified by numbers according to how finely they are ground, from the roughest ground “tipo”1, to 0, and the finest 00. Our non-GMO Neapolitan tomatoes are cultivated in the region of Campania, as well as many other ingredients straight from Naples. Most of our ingredients are non-GMO or Organic.
WRE: What ingredients does MidiCi use to make exceptional Neapolitan Pizza?
JM: As I said previously, MidiCi takes pride in our ingredients. Everything from our double zero flour, simple but fresh ingredients like our tomato sauce, which is as simple as crushed Italian tomatoes with sea salt. Even our mozzarella is made from fresh, local milk gathered only a few hours after milking, our fresh mozzarella begins with quality ingredients and care. The result is a delicate, clean-flavored fresh mozzarella with a soft, porcelain white appearance. MidiCi’s pizza is so fresh and light that you will never fill heavy or bloated after eating it. Our pizza is unlike anything else in Miami, our pizza gives you a taste of la Dolce Vita!
WRE: Tell us more about the gorgeous ovens MidiCi uses to make exceptional Neapolitan Pizza?
JM: Neapolitan pizza is art. So are the ovens that bake it. The wood-fired oven is a key element in the baking of Neapolitan Pizza. The moisture and aroma of the wood allows the crust to maintain its internal softness, as well as ensuring large bubbles inside the dough, and the typical aroma of cooked bread. All of these are hallmarks of true Neapolitan Pizza. Our two ovens were handbuilt by a third-generation family company in Naples. Each oven complied to the most detailed constructive rules and lengthy process. Our ovens are unique because they’re made exclusively by hand, from raw materials like sand and stone harvested in Naples.
Jose Mendez
MidiCi’s focus is on people, we’re trying to make the world a friendlier place by creating memories and connections with our guests.
Jose Mendez
WRE: What are your goals for MidiCi in the near future?
JM: Our main goal is to grow our first MidiCi location as quickly as possible so that we can focus on our second and third location.
WRE: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
JM: I see my self owning and operating 10 or more retail/restaurant franchises as well as creating my own concept that will be focused on organic food. Also, I will continue the growth of our construction companies Baltic Construction and Hartkopf Construction.
