Mortadella Head

What Mortadella Head does

Mortadella Head is a privately held Italian-American restaurant operator founded in 2018 by Chuck Sillari and Sebastiano Fricia. The company runs two physical dine-in and takeout locations in Greater Boston — Davis Square, Somerville (20 College Ave) and Wellesley, MA (263 Washington Street) — and an e-commerce storefront (mortadellaheadstore.com) shipping handmade Italian-American classics nationwide. Its menu centers on Roman-style pizza built on a 72-hour cold-fermented dough with a 75% hydration ratio (a technique the founders learned directly from Gabriele Bonci in Rome), Italian-American submarine sandwiches (including a Pork & Rabe sub inspired by porchetta maker Vito Bernabei), take-and-bake lasagnas, handmade meatballs, mozzarella sticks, sauces, and merchandise. Product-side technical differentiation is concentrated in proprietary dough fermentation, fresh sauce production, and recipe provenance rather than software or platform architecture.

The business operates three primary revenue streams: (1) in-restaurant dining and takeout ordered via the ToastTab platform at both Massachusetts locations; (2) corporate and private event catering — including office luncheons, corporate gatherings, family functions, and celebrity charity events — with contract pricing and monthly invoicing for regular accounts and named clients including Budweiser, Delta Air Lines, Google, MIT, and the David Ortiz Children's Fund; and (3) nationwide e-commerce shipping of frozen/bake-at-home Italian classics. A secondary fundraising program donates a percentage of sales back to nonprofits, youth groups, sports teams, and student organizations, generating over $200,000 in the prior year. Distribution is hybrid: regional physical retail (Greater Boston), global e-commerce, and direct enterprise sales for catering. Marketing relies on a 120+ page recipe/content blog, active social presence across Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Pinterest, an email newsletter funnel offering a free cookbook incentive, and earned media including a Phantom Gourmet TV feature. The company is closely held by its two founders with no disclosed outside investment or funding rounds.

Name

Mortadella Head

Legal name

Mortadella Head

Website

https://mortadellahead.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Mortadella Head is a privately held Italian-American restaurant operator founded in 2018, running two Greater Boston dine-in locations (Somerville and Wellesley), a nationwide e-commerce shipping store, and a corporate catering vertical, with signature 72-hour cold-fermented Roman pizza as its core product.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Italian-American Restaurant

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Caterers (722320), Caterers (72232), Special Food Services (7223)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Food And Kindred Products (2000), Miscellaneous Food Preparations & Kindred Products (2090)

akta.pro primary industry

Brasseries, Bistros & Trattorias (THAFACAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Wedding & Social Event Catering (THAHAKAE), Premium Gourmet & Chef-Curated Meal Kits/Prepared Meals (CRAHAJAK), Event Culinary Staffing & Back-of-House Services (Chefs, Servers, Bartenders) (THAHAKAN), Pizza, Wings & Oven-Baked Prepared Foods (In-Store Concepts) (CRAHAKAE)

Keywords

• Italian-American restaurant
• Roman style pizza
• Submarine sandwiches
• Corporate catering services
• Mail order food

Headquarters

HQ city

Somerville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Restaurant Dining and Takeout: In-restaurant sales and takeout orders from two physical locations in Massachusetts. Customers can order via ToastTab online platform or by phone.
2. Catering Services: Corporate catering for office luncheons, events, and family functions. Offers buffet style trays, individual meals, and pizza parties. Includes contract pricing for regular corporate customers.
3. Nationwide E-commerce Shipping: Ships handmade Italian-American classics nationwide through mortadellaheadstore.com. Products include lasagnas, sauces, and specialty items.
4. Fundraising Partnerships: Community fundraising program where percentage of sales goes back to benefiting organizations including charitable organizations, youth groups, sports teams, and student organizations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Mortadella Head operates Italian-American restaurants serving Roman-style pizza (with a proprietary 72-hour cold-fermented dough) and submarine sandwiches via dine-in, takeout, online ordering, and nationwide shipping. The company also provides corporate and private-event catering, ships handmade take-and-bake Italian classics (lasagnas, sauces, meatballs, porchetta) through an e-commerce store, sells branded merchandise, and runs a community fundraiser program.

Product overview

Mortadella Head is an Italian-American pizza and sub shop with two physical restaurant locations in the Boston area (Somerville and Wellesley, MA) and an e-commerce operation shipping products nationwide. The core offering consists of Roman-style pizza (featuring 72-hour fermented dough) and Italian-American submarine sandwiches. The company operates a catering division for events, an online store (mortadellaheadstore.com) shipping take-and-bake Italian classics nationwide, a branded merchandise line, and a community fundraiser program. The restaurant combines authentic Italian recipes learned from master pizzaiolo Gabriele Bonci in Rome with classic American comfort food flavors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mortadella Head Pizza & Sub Shop Core dine-in and takeout restaurant offering Roman-style pizza with 72-hour fermented dough and Italian-American submarine sandwiches at two Massachusetts locations (Davis Square, Somerville and Wellesley). Online ordering available via ToastTab.
• Catering Services Full-service catering for corporate events, office luncheons, family functions, and large-scale events including celebrity charity fundraisers. Provides buffet-style trays, individual meals, and pizza party packages with customizable menus accommodating gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, keto, and paleo diets.
• Nationwide Food Shipping Direct-to-consumer e-commerce store (mortadellaheadstore.com) shipping handmade Italian-American classics — including take-and-bake lasagnas (Quattro Formaggi, Bolognese, Chicken and Broccoli Rabe), meatballs, marinara sauce, porchetta, and specialty items — to customers anywhere in the United States.
• Specialty Products and Apparel Branded merchandise line including specialty food products, apparel, and gear sold through the Mortadella Head online store.
• Community Fundraiser Program Fundraising partnership program for charitable organizations, youth groups, sports teams, and student organizations; a percentage of sales is returned to the benefiting organization, with over $200,000 raised for causes in the past year.

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Boston Burger CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister restaurant company. The founders have been providing catering services for over a decade with Boston Burger Company. Expert caterers prepared for any sized event from small office lunches to multi-million dollar celebrity charity events. Both brands are part of the same restaurant group offering employee perks across locations.
• Gabriele BoncicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMaster pizza maker from Rome dubbed 'the Michelangelo of pizza' by Italian Vogue. Taught Mortadella Head founders the authentic Roman pizza technique including 72-hour cold fermentation dough process and high hydration methods.
• Vito BernabeiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerItalian porchetta maker from Marino, Rome. The founders visited him to learn authentic porchetta technique, which inspired the Mortadella Head Pork & Rabe sub.
• BudweiserminorOthersCorporate catering client for office events and corporate gatherings.
• Delta Air LinesminorOthersCorporate catering client for office events and corporate gatherings.
• GoogleminorOthersCorporate catering client for office events and corporate gatherings.
• MITminorOthersCorporate catering client for office events and corporate gatherings.
• David Ortiz Children's FundminorOthersCelebrity charity event catering client. Mortadella Head has catered high-profile events including celebrity charity events in the Caribbean.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• &pizza: Fast-casual custom pizza chain operating on the East Coast. Competes in the casual pizza segment with similar dine-in/takeout/delivery options, though with a more standardized chain operating model versus Mortadella Head's artisan approach.
• Goldbelly: Online marketplace and shipping platform that ships iconic regional American foods nationwide. Highly comparable to Mortadella Head's e-commerce shipping business model, though Goldbelly curates multiple restaurants while Mortadella Head ships its own products only.
• Oath Pizza: Fast-casual pizza chain with a New England presence focused on healthier, sustainably-sourced pizza. Competitor for the casual pizza customer in the Northeast, though operating with a different value proposition (fast-casual health focus vs. Italian-authentic comfort).

Direct peers

• Regina Pizzeria: Iconic Boston pizzeria operating multiple locations in Greater Boston since 1926. Direct competitor in the local Italian pizza market with similar dine-in/takeout/catering operations, though serving traditional Neapolitan-style pizza rather than Roman style.
• Giulia Restaurant: Cambridge, MA-based Italian restaurant serving authentic regional Italian cuisine. Direct local peer in the Greater Boston upscale-casual Italian dining segment, competing for the same Italian-authenticity-seeking customer with dine-in and catering services.
• Boston Burger Company: Sister restaurant company sharing the same founders, catering infrastructure, and restaurant group. Operates as a burger-focused counterpart in the same Boston-area casual dining segment, with overlapping back-office, employee perks, and B2B catering clients.
• Galleria Umberto: Beloved Sicilian-style pizzeria in Boston's North End. Direct local peer serving Italian pizza in Greater Boston with a strong takeout and catering business, competing for the same authentic-Italian-pizza-seeking customer.
• Bonci USA: U.S. expansion of the Roman pizza concept from Gabriele Bonci (the same master who trained Mortadella Head's founders). Direct conceptual peer serving authentic Roman al taglio pizza in the U.S., representing both the brand's inspiration and a potential competitive threat.

Broad incumbents

• Rao's Homemade: Established Italian-American food brand selling premium sauces, pasta, and prepared foods in grocery retail nationwide. Comparable to Mortadella Head's strategy of converting an Italian-American restaurant brand into shippable CPG products, though Rao's operates at significantly larger scale.

Regional players

• Bertucci's: Regional Italian restaurant chain headquartered in the Northeast U.S. Operates brick-oven pizza and Italian dining locations across multiple states, competing with Mortadella Head on the casual Italian dining and catering experience in overlapping geographies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/mortadellahead
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCx7f_4006wgGi82_wgmd-og
• Facebookfacebook.com/mortadellahead
• Instagraminstagram.com/mortadellahead
• Pinterestpinterest.it/mortadellahead
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mortadella-head

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mortadella Head