Baldinucci Pizza Romana's original West Lake Hills pizzeria went dark on August 10, temporarily shuttering the 3300 Bee Caves Road flagship for a renovation that will nearly quadruple its dining room. The family-run spot, known for its Roman-style pizza al taglio, plans to reopen in November 2026 with seating expanded from just 12 seats to 54.
According to a news release cited by Community Impact, the flagship's cramped 12-seat dining room had long been a bottleneck for guests hoping to eat in rather than take their pizza to go. The 350% seating increase is meant to fix that when the doors reopen at the Westbank Market address, a spot the restaurant has occupied inside the West Lake Hills retail center since October 2022.
A New North Austin Hub Fills the Gap
Timing was everything. One week before the Westlake closure, Baldinucci opened a second location on August 17 at 11501 Rock Rose Avenue in Domain Northside, a space that will serve, per the release, as a hub for longtime fans and new guests until the flagship reopens. The Domain Northside space previously belonged to Salvation Pizza, whose Texas mixed-beverage sales permit lapsed in June 2025 after the pizzeria spent nearly a decade on Rock Rose Avenue, according to ATX Things.
The Domain shop isn't just a stand-in — it expands on Baldinucci's original menu with gelato, wine, beer, and Maine Root sodas, and the owners plan to add pasta entrees and more desserts down the line, per 6AM City. Diners can still find the staples that built the brand's following, including pizzas like margherita, sausage and honey, chicken parmesan, and fig and arugula, alongside New York hero sandwiches, small dishes such as meatball parmigiana, and house, Caesar, and Greek salads. Dessert options include New York cheesecake with strawberry compote, limoncello mascarpone cake, and cannolis.
A Family Recipe Turned Regional Ambition
Baldinucci's pizza al taglio is built on a 72-hour dough fermentation using high-hydration dough and imported Italian flour, a process the restaurant says produces a thick yet airy crust cooked in a manner similar to ciabatta bread, according to the restaurant's own description on its website. That approach traces back further than the Westlake storefront — before opening the flagship in October 2022, the concept started as a takeaway-only ghost kitchen operating out of GhostLine Kitchen in South Austin beginning in March 2022, as reported by CultureMap Austin.
The business was founded by twin brothers Gabriel and Salvatore Baldinucci along with Sal's wife, Patricia, continuing a family pizza tradition that dates back to 1977, when their parents, Italian immigrants Enrico and his wife, opened a pizzeria on Long Island, New York. Salvatore brings more than 40 years of pizza-making experience to the kitchen, Patricia contributes over 25 years in industry management, and Gabriel — who holds an MBA from Stanford University and previously worked in corporate strategy before rejoining his brother in 2022 — handles the business side, per the same CultureMap Austin account.
Eyeing 10 Austin Locations and Beyond
The Westlake renovation and Domain Northside opening appear to be early moves in a much larger plan. At the August opening event for the second store, co-owner Gabriel Baldinucci said the restaurant group intends to open 10 locations across the Austin metro area before expanding into Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston, according to 6AM City.
The Domain Northside opening also lands amid broader turnover along Rock Rose Avenue's entertainment corridor, where rising rents contributed to the early 2026 closure of longtime nightlife fixtures like Kung Fu Saloon, even as the strip has drawn in more quick-service dining concepts. For now, Baldinucci fans in Westlake will have to make the drive north to the Domain for their pizza al taglio fix until the flagship reopens with room for more than four times as many diners.
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