8-year-old Quin, a young friend of the pizza makers, pops out from behind the sign.
Co-owners Armando Verea and Sue Iacuzzi are celebrating the fourth season of making pizzas with The Laughing Tomato Wood Fired Pizza mobile oven. The personal-sized pies feature toppings like fresh spinach and mozzarella, dollops of ricotta cheese, fig jam and chorizo and prosciutto. They cook quickly, under three minutes, in the artist-built hardwood fueled oven that heats up to 750 degrees.
The business started after the cheery couple moved to the Pioneer Valley from Naples, Florida, in 2011.
"We moved here just with the idea of doing this business," said Sue Iacuzzi. "We had seen someone doing this in Florida on the street. We spoke with them a little bit and thought this looks really interesting and we should try it."
There was much to do to get ready for their planned springtime start that year. While Maine artist Andrew White built the oven over the winter, the pair made pizzas daily, perfected recipes practiced making pizzas daily and joined a network of brick oven pizza makers.
"We found a Facebook group of people who were doing this and they were incredibly helpful, from the dough recipe to everything," said Iacuzzi. "Every day we would talk with people from that group, share ideas and support each other. That's really the way we learned."
Through the group, they met a Connecticut pizza maker who invited them to experience the fast-paced work. Iacuzzi shared how it was a huge learning experience in a short amount of time. They even buddied up with Black Birch Vineyard in Southampton. The two businesses started around the same time and Iacuzzi shared that they have become close like family.
The mobile brick oven crew sets up for pizza events as far as they can travel, in addition to private events and Red Fire Farm's annual Tomato Festival, happening this year on Saturday, August 22. The Northampton Tuesday Market is the only regular farmers market that they do.
"It's great because it hits lunch and dinner," said Iacuzzi. "The morning markets are difficult. Pizzas are a hard sell in the morning!"
From there, they started their journey and fans of The Laughing Tomato have flock to the Tuesday Market to place their orders. Iacuzzi kidded that it was because of Christoforo, the Patron Saint of Mozzarella -- a colorful and quirky picture of a grey tabby cat dressed like a gypsy that she keeps by the pizza prep station.
"It might be a little silly but his little face keeps us smiling and thankful," she said.
Learn more about The Laughing Tomato Wood Fired Pizza mobile oven at thelaughingtomato.com and on Facebook.
Orders held by magnets at the work station. Co-owner Sue Iacuzzi humorously calls the cat image "Cristoforo, the patron saint of mozzarella."