Mark another inch on the wall for Portland’s continuing pizza growth-spurt. Jeff Smalley, a key baker behind the dough at Grand Central Bakery, Baker & Spice, Portland French, and New Seasons, is cracking into the world of wood-fired pizza. His new Neapolitan-style pizzeria and bakery, Fire and Stone, will open early November at 3707 Northeast Fremont St.

Smalley is enlisting the help of former Ken’s Artisan Pizza sous chef, Joey Alvarez, and his partner, Juliana Santos (formerly the General Manager at Little Bird Bistro), to run the wood-fired operation. Smalley perfected the sourdough crust formula, but Alvarez is in charge of the kitchen.

The space, a former bodega in the Beaumont-Wilshire neighborhood, has undergone a serious facelift. Smalley, also a contractor, rebuilt the space into a 70-seat dining room with a 10-person bar and a bakery in back with plenty of thick, reclaimed barn wood to go around.

Fire and Stone will take advantage of its in-house bakery, serving “hand-held” counter-service breakfast, Italian sandwiches for lunch (think fried cod with fennel, red onion, and salsa verde), and calamari bruschetta with garbanzo and pancetta soffritto for dinner. Pizza, from marinara to rapini, will stick close to the Neapolitan playbook.

Stay tuned to Eat Beat for updates. 

Fire and Stone
3707 Northeast Fremont St.
Hours: Mon-Wed, 7 am-9 pm;
Thurs-Fri, 7 am-10 pm;
Sat, 8 am-10 pm;
Sun, 8 am-9 pm