Two spots, one recipe: Where to find the real Marco’s pizza

Almost seven years after a tornado destroyed My Family Pizza at Preston Royal, the recipe that made it a local staple for decades is still being served at two Dallas concepts.

Frankie Nuccio’s family opened the original store at Preston Royal in 1962. They sold the same thin-crusted pizza recipe for over five decades at the location, amassing a loyal following along the way. Before a trademark dispute forced Nuccio to change the name, the business operated as Pizza by Marco for most of its run, which is why many longtime fans simply referred to it as Marco’s.

In 2019, a devastating tornado decimated the shopping center and left Nuccio’s family business leveled. He was disappointed to lose the business, he says, but also relieved as delivery apps had taken a cut and Central Market’s opening next door left customers without much parking. Afterward, he opened a boba business, which he sold last year to resurrect the family business.

Ghost Pizza

His rising-from-the-ashes moment came in May, when Nuccio opened Ghost Pizza near his home in Lake Highlands. The new spot uses the exact same recipe as the original Pizza by Marco, and sells almost entirely all of the former pizzeria’s signature pizzas, including the best-selling Maximus, which comes with onions, sausage, ground beef, canadian bacon, pepperoni, black olives, green olives, green peppers and mushrooms.

“One thing I learned from my mom and dad is, this is the recipe. ‘Don’t change it. Do everything the way we teach you, and you’re going to succeed,’” Nuccio says. “And that’s why we stayed in the business so long.”

But there’s already another business in town selling Marco’s-style pizza, and while it may not have a Nuccio in the kitchen, it still sells the recipe under the original-ish name. In 2013, the family licensed the recipe to the owners of the Pour House in Lakewood, where it has been sold for over a decade under the My Family Pizza brand. Tim Feutz and Calvin Bow bought the bar earlier this year, and Feutz says they will continue to uphold the legacy for the foreseeable future.

“I like thin crust pizza; this is a nice crispy thin crust,” Feutz says. “The sauce has a nice little tang to it with the Italian spices in there.”

So, who’s selling the real Marco’s, and why is the recipe still being sold over 50 years and an EF-3 tornado later? We asked both owners.

The recipe

While Pizza by Marco opened at Preston Royal in 1962, the recipe’s story goes all the way back to Sicily. And, as Nuccio will tell you, it starts with the sauce.

His grandmother’s family immigrated from Palermo in 1903, bringing with them a recipe for tomato sauce that Nuccio says dates back to the mid- to late 1800s. She then fine-tuned it for use on pizzas at his father’s private establishment on Carroll Avenue, the Marco Polo Club, which opened in 1949. The recipe has largely remained the same since, Nuccio says.

It is one of the longest-running styles in Dallas, and may even be second in time-served only to Campisi’s, which opened in 1946. While both Sicilian-rooted recipes use thin crust blackened on the edges, Nuccio says one of the main differences is found under the cheese.

“Our sauces are totally different,” he says. “Obviously, the other sauce has, I believe, some anchovy paste in it, and our sauce is on the sweeter side.”

Nuccio’s sauce simmers for hours, then is stored overnight and given a final, undisclosed touch (Nuccio is careful not to divulge too many of his family’s culinary secrets) before serving. The key, Nuccio says, is time, adding that a great sauce should be able to age like Roman concrete.

He buys mild Italian sausage in bulk unseasoned, with fennel, garlic and pepper added in-store at his new Lake Highlands location. White breast chicken and 80/20 hamburger meat are also sourced locally.

Dough is made with four main ingredients: organic flour, single-source olive oil, yeast and a pinch of salt. There are also secret herbs and spices added before baking. Nuccio disavowed processed ingredients and food additives after a trip to Burning Man in the early 2010s, which is why he says all of his products are made using simple, organic ingredients. It also results in a better pizza, he says.

“Everything has to be made fresh within 48 hours,” Nuccio says. “And you got to cook all your meats. And you got to do it yourself, or perhaps the one that isn’t gonna cut corners, especially when you’re not there.”

The resulting dish is aromatic, generously topped with provolone and crispy on the edges, with enough flop in the middle to avoid any tavern-style allegations.

Nuccio spent years opening up other concepts and trying to operate multiple My Family Pizza locations, which hurt the quality of the product, he says, adding that “no one is gonna love it as much as you do.” His decision to reopen in Lake Highlands was driven by the memory of his parents, which is why the spot earned the title Ghost Pizza.

“I think that they would smile ear to ear today,” Nuccio says. “I finally got serious about everything. Before I wanted to have a lot of fun, now it’s all about serving the best food consistently to everybody.”

Who’s selling Marco’s?

Like Nuccio’s newest concept, the Pour House also blasts its pizzas in the oven for seven minutes at 700 degrees, but again, they largely use the same recipe. 

“Everybody likes it,” Feutz says. “The pizza’s well received. We could always stand to sell a few more.”

Still selling pizza under the My Family Pizza name, Feutz and the kitchen staff mix in freshly-shredded mozzarella with provolone before baking. That may be the truest foundational difference, as Feutz and his co-owners still buy sauce from Nuccio and get packets for pizza dough. While Marco’s favorites like the Augustus and Spartan are on offer, The Pour House’s best seller is the Lakewood, which comes with Canadian bacon, ground Beef, sausage, pepperoni, tomatoes, parmesan and basil.

Feutz is quick to admit that “the original guy always” has an edge, adding that “I can’t say that we do it better than him.” But his kitchen is also focused on burgers, lunch specials and bar snacks.

“He’s just all pizza focused,” he says. “We have many other things. Sandwiches, burgers, that kind of stuff. They’re a little more zeroed in on one item than us. But I think the quality would be similar.”

If asked where to find the real Pizza by Marco, Nuccio says he would probably tell customers to come to Ghost Pizza, although he may have a bit of owner’s bias. However, he has no problem sharing his family’s recipe with the Pour House.

“He’s going to make more money. I’m going to make a little more money,” Nuccio says. “It’s a win-win for Lakewood. I don’t know if Lakewood people are going to drive over here, but I want him to be successful.”

While Ghost Pizza is a dedicated pizzeria and the Pour House provides pies meant to be enjoyed with pints, one thing is clear: close to seventy years later, Pizza by Marco endures.

“To be the holder of those recipes and that style, it’s really cool,” Feutz says. “Hopefully we can carry it on and keep the name up.”