Pizza My Heart – Santa Cruz, CA

Click here to order online!

Pizza My Heart – Santa Cruz, CA
1116 Pacific Ave # B
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
(831) 426-2511

Our Story

We were founded in 1981.  Appropriately, that was the year the Rolling Stones had a monster hit with Start Me Up, And, like Mick Jagger, we’re both going strong several decades later.  The first restaurant was right on Capitola Beach.  It’s not much larger than the average bedroom, but that tiny Capitola restaurant has become a landmark for surfers and beachgoers alike.  Summer days often see the line for pizza reach nearly a block long.  We’re proud to say pizza and surf now go together in Capitola like hot dogs and baseball.

Stoked with the success in Capitola, Pizza My Heart opened in downtown Santa Cruz a few years later. This was a big upgrade for both local and tourists as there was actually room to sit down and enjoy a slice.  After the ’89 earthquake damaged our building, we moved to our current location on Pacific Avenue, bringing along our great pizza and even greater customers.

In 1997, possibly while jivin’ to the top 10 hit I Like It Like That, the original Pizza My Heart founders decided that more time surfing was something they would like. So they merged their operations with Pizza A Go Go, another concept dedicated to great food, customer service and fun.   We’ve grown a lot since then, but the thing that made us great in Capitola in 1981 is still what makes us great today.  Fresh, hand tossed pizza, the best local ingredients we can find, and customers who tell us every day that when we make a great pizza – They Like it Like That.

We are family owned and have no plans to franchise or sell out.  We are committed to serving the best pizza in California and we believe that staying family owned is the only way to do that.  We open a few new restaurants each year to serve a few more customers.  If you’ve been with us from the beginning, or joined any time along the way – Thank You!  If you haven’t yet discovered Pizza My Heart, we invite you to roll on in and say “Start Me Up”!   We promise it’s a habit you’ll come to love.

Our Mission

Keep it simple:

We want the highest quality in our pizza and our service – a level that impresses you so much, you tell your friends about us!

We believe a pizza place should be fun. We started in one of the “funnest” places on Earth…Capitola Beach.  Since then, each time we open a new restaurant, we bring a slice of the beach with us.  Our Willow Glen restaurant displays the “world’s largest wooden surfboard” while others have surf memorabilia from the pro circuit and famous surf movies. By creating a fun atmosphere and hiring fun people, we think you’ll enjoy it more each time you visit Pizza My Heart.