Diavola Opens Mid-june In Geyserville, Bringing Wood-burning Oven Dishes And Artisanal Italian Pizzas To Sonoma County

Executive Chef Dino Bugica and Owner Doug Swett Unveil Their Sister Restaurant to Santi as a Casual, Family-Style Pizzeria & Salumeria, Highlighting Local Produce.

Located in the heart of the Sonoma County wine country, Geyserville boasts small-town charm, destination-worthy cuisine and a strong sense of community. Adding to the fabric of this tightly-knit area is Diavola Pizzeria & Salumeria, opening on the main strip, Geyserville Avenue, in mid-June 2008, under the passionate eye of award-winning Executive Chef Dino Bugica and Owner Doug Swett. Making their dream of a casual sister restaurant to Santi a reality, Bugica and Swett have created a new space to welcome the community in a modern-day Italian pizzeria that celebrates artisanal and local ingredients, homemade products and small-production Italian wines.

"Cooking in the traditional Italian way is a passion of mine, and one that will be fully realized in the menu at Diavola," said Bugica. "We want the restaurant to be a casual place that equally welcomes the local community as well as the many visitors to Sonoma wine country each day. From the bicyclists off the trail who are looking for a quick lunch to the neighboring firemen at the station, we welcome them all!"

Intended to embody the spirit of a cucina povera ("poor kitchen" in Italian), Diavola will use the best locally-grown ingredients and products available for the menu at affordable prices, as well as offer many house-made items for retail sale, such as salumi meats, cheeses and canned tomatoes. Executive Chef Dino Bugica is even working with a local farmer to exclusively grow several varieties of Italian tomatoes and chili peppers for his menu.

It truly took a village to build Diavola as many of the community members contributed to the construction, planning and implementation, including Bugica's own brother and father, who helped with the construction and design, his wife Sonja, who selected all the glassware, flatware and plates, and a local woodworker who owns a shop across the street from the restaurant who designed the bar and did all the mill work on the tables. Working closely with Chef Bugica, Building Designer Gerda Engelbart has created an intimate and warm space at just 1,200-square-feet, which will house 40 seats between the two dining rooms and an additional five seats at the bar. Originally a space that was home to masons, Diavola sits in an historic building that dates back to the early 1900s and will retain the original brick walls and hardwood plank floors. Oldtimers may even remember the building for the many public dances that were held in the town hall upstairs from where Diavola is located.

Serving as a main focal point to the restaurant will be a 13-foot wide imported Italian wood-burning oven, which will be subtlely decorated with blue and white ceramic French tiles. Watching over the dishes from the oven, Bugica is even installing a small alter among the interior fire bricks for San Lorenzo, the Patron Saint of Cooks. The bar will feature modern, illuminated frosted glass with accents of stainless steel and bamboo. Other eclectic design touches in the restaurant include a re-purposed butcher rail as a base for track lighting and a custom-made Espresso machine designed to mimic a Ducati motorbike with the Italian colors of green, red and silver. Recycling some of the furniture from the Geyserville Saloon, the previous tenant of the space, Diavola will also feature fresh black wood bistro-style chairs with newly-upholstered fabrics and tables covered with tin and copper, as well as a few communal tables fashioned from old bowling alley planks. The 12-foot green tin-stamped ceilings allow the space to feel generous, yet intimate. Bugica plans for the artwork to rotate on a regular basis and highl