Go Down and Meet the Neighborhood Pizza Man

Just downhill from 25th and Western, Pavich’s Brick Oven Pizzeria has opened.

The six-week-old pizzeria serves whole pizzas, Croatian barbecued sausage (cheyapi), sandwiches, chili with Polish kielbasa, Caesar salad and a few side dishes. There is no dining room, just the take-out counter.

“We serve thin crust, brick-oven pizzas made to order by hand,” said Zdenko Pavic, who co-owns the pizzeria with his wife, Mirela.

Pizza by the slice will be added to the menu in mid June. Delivery will also be offered in the coming months.

Pizzas go beyond the familiar pepperoni to include American with roasted pork and barbecue sauce; Croatian with smoked beef, roasted peppers, feta, mozzarella and garlic sauce; 4 Gusti with artichokes, ham, mushrooms and mozzarella; Latina with jalapeño peppers; and Hawaiian with ham and pineapple.

More than a half and half, this pizza is one-fourth of four house specials: Hawaiian, Croatian, 4 Gusti and American (clockwise from bottom).


The Pavics live three houses from the pizzeria with their daughter Maya, 14, and son, Antonio, 10, students at San Pedro public schools. This is the Pavics’ first business since moving to San Pedro in 1999.

Antonio, Mirela and Zdenko Pavic next to the brick oven.

Pavich’s Brick Oven Pizzeria, 2311 S. Alma St., (310) 519-1200. Open daily 11 a.m.-8 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays until 9 p.m.