It’s the time of the season—the season for all things ghosts, brujas, and skulls. And Bari Pasta & Pizza in Santa Ana will satisfy Halloween enthusiasts and foodies alike.
Bari Pasta & Pizza has been serving the pizza skulls of your dreams for the past eight years, offering skull-shaped pizza dough stuffed with gooey mozzarella cheese and pepperoni and served with their bloody-red marinara sauce.
But to indulge in their social media-famous skulls means diving into their history. Although the family-owned restaurant is known for its skulls, they have actually been serving Italian cuisine for the past 22 years. According to co-owner Maria Villegas, the mastermind behind the restaurant is her father, Juan, who founded Bari.
“He’s always worked with Italian food," she said as customers walked in. "When he first migrated from Mexico to the U.S., he started working as a field worker, and shortly after, he got an opportunity to work in an Italian restaurant. That’s where he started to learn how to cook Italian food.”
Her father started as a dishwasher and eventually worked up to a management position before deciding to make his dream come true by opening his own pizzeria.