How Napa Valley Natives Guy & Tony Piombo Turned Backyard Pizza Into a Fine Art
In the heart of California’s Napa Valley, a father-son duo is redefining the centerpiece of the American outdoor kitchen. Enter Forno Piombo.
What started in 2014 as a retired father’s curiosity has blossomed into a high-end manufacturer of artisanal pizza ovens that now grace the patios of residential foodies and the tasting rooms of world-class wineries alike.
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A Legacy Built Brick by Brick
For Tony Piombo, the co-founder of Forno Piombo, bridging the gap between high-performance commercial equipment and the warmth of a family backyard was not just a business opportunity. It was a natural extension of his hometown roots.
The company’s story begins with a simple request from a local church organization. Guy Piombo, Tony’s father and a lifelong builder, was asked to construct a pizza oven for a community event.
Despite having no prior experience in oven masonry, Guy immersed himself in weeks of research, eventually traveling to Italy to study the history and craft of traditional designs.
“He’s a very handy guy and really smart,” Tony said of his father. “He did a really deep dive on the history of ovens, all the different ways they can be built, read a lot of books, and went on a lot of forums”.
After successfully building the church oven, Guy constructed a second unit in his own backyard. When Tony saw the finished product, he knew they had more than just a hobby on their hands.
“I kind of said, ‘Hey, let’s sell these things,’” Tony recalls. “‘If you can build them, I can handle everything else.’ And that’s what we did.”
Within a year, the family venture became a full-time operation.
Innovation in the Outdoor Kitchen
Masonry pizza ovens have long been built in a single place, essentially a static structure instead of a moveable appliance. Forno Piombo took a different approach by creating high-performance pizza ovens that could be built, shipped, and moved.
Forno Piombo has a number of options available to suit basically any gastropub kitchen, winery tasting room, or residential outdoor space. For example:
The Santino Series: A high-performance masonry oven crafted from refractory concrete, designed to hold thermal mass far better than steel alternatives. It features an interior diameter of 24 to 28 inches, making it the ideal choice for smaller patios and efficient heat-up times.
The Casa 90: A mid-to-large scale oven featuring a 36-inch interior diameter. This model is built for those who need more cooking real estate without moving into the full custom scale of the larger commercial units.
The Palazzo: Referred to as the company’s “opera d’arte,” this model features a traditional hand-cut brick dome. Because of its immense thermal mass, it can hold residual heat for up to 36 hours, allowing you to bake bread or slow-roast a Thanksgiving turkey long after the initial fire has died down.
The Roman: The “Goldilocks” model, just released in 2026, that bridges the gap between the Santino and larger brick ovens with a 32-inch interior diameter. It reaches 900 degrees Fahrenheit in just 30 to 40 minutes and can comfortably cook three 12-inch pizzas at once.
Family Values
For Tony and Guy, Forno Piombo represents much more than a successful business operation. According to Tony, the company is a direct reflection of their family’s values.
“The biggest thing that was ingrained day one with our company and our brand was how it’s tied to family,” Tony explained. “We truly treat our clients like they’re family members.”
Tony said that the company does everything in its power to support its customers, from assisting them in deciding which model to buy to supporting the logistics of shipping, installing, and actually using the oven.
While this level of customer service makes good business sense, its roots are much deeper for the family. Tony added that this attention-to-service likely stems from the fact that the business itself was a family affair from the beginning.
“That crossover between family and business. That connection has been very important to us since day one,” he said. “I think a lot of that has to do with the family aspect – me and my dad starting this business together.”
If you’d like to join the Forno Piombo family with your own high-performance pizza oven, you can check out their website at FornoPiombo.com.
Meet the Forno Piombo Ovens!
Forno Piombo manufactures perhaps the highest-performing and longest-lasting wood-fired and gas-powered pizza ovens on the market. Here are a few of their top-selling ovens.
Just Released: The Roman 80 in Ivory-colored Tile
The Casa in Stucco
The Palazzo in Sasparilla-colored Tile
The Santino 70
All images in this article were provided by Forno Piombo