There's usually a line out front by the time Uncle Rico's opens its doors at 11 a.m. in Fort Myers, and the pizza shop on Cleveland Avenue has given customers plenty of reasons to keep showing up. Enrico Aguila and his wife Cira opened the shop in 2022, and it has since built a reputation as an award-winning stop in the local pizza scene, with plans for a dough room and more workspace.
From a Corner Shop to a Growing Following
Aguila and Cira originally opened at the corner of Hanson Street and Cleveland Avenue in March 2022, according to The News-Press. The shop has since become known for the crowds it draws — “There's often a line out the door,” the outlet reported in August. That same report said Uncle Rico's, now located at 2960 Cleveland Ave., was about to double in size.
Part of the draw is price: customers can get two huge slices of cheese pizza and a drink for $6.50, available from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. or until the shop sells out, the News-Press reported in May. Pizza is at the center of Aguila's shop.
A Trophy Case Built on Competition Wins
Aguila's pizza has picked up recognition well beyond his own storefront. He took first overall in the traditional cheese pizza category at the Galbani Professionale Pizza Cup in Orlando in November 2024, and the following year he and his son Antonio won the event's two-person Pizza a Due competition, according to the same News-Press report. The 2026 edition of the Galbani Professionale Pizza Cup was scheduled to take place at the October 2026 Pizza Tomorrow Summit, per the event's own competition page.
The shop's name has also turned up on broader best-of lists. Uncle Rico's landed at No. 57 on Yelp's list of top 100 restaurants in Florida in 2023, the News-Press reported, and The Washington Post separately named the pizzeria the third-best in Florida in the New York pizza-style category. Aguila was selected as a member of the U.S. Pizza Team.
Networking Beyond the Neighborhood
Aguila's competition wins and the shop's rankings have raised its profile beyond Fort Myers. The Cleveland Avenue storefront still often draws a line out the door.
