Meet the business owner – Matt Wehbeh from Downtown Pizzeria

I started as a kitchenhand in a pizza place while I was at uni in Melbourne. At 18 I got promoted and started making pizzas, learning more about how to make pizza dough and the sauces from scratch. A few years later while on a trip to Sydney, I stopped in at Albury and fell in love with the town. I saw this vacant store and just thought “why not?” – and that’s how Downtown Pizzeria began. 

When it comes to pizza, it’s all about the sauces. We keep it simple but always fresh and always made from scratch. We love using different herbs and vegetables and trying out new flavours. We source all our ingredients locally – our herbs, vegetables, and our meat – and every season we create something new. 

For pizzas, the dough is also important. Like the sauce, we make it from scratch, but we give it a day to rest. Each portion is weighed to ensure consistency, and then we stretch and roll the dough as we go. The recipe, now that’s a secret, but it’s very simple with a tiny twist that suits a woodfire oven. With the wood-fire oven, it’s very important to keep it at a certain temperature so the pizzas cook evenly, and I’ve learnt how to keep it at the perfect temperature just by the feel of my hand. 

I have so much passion for what I do and I’m driven by the support we get from the Albury community. We are so close with everyone here, with the businesses and the customers. We offer good food and good service and get so much love in return. When people thank you for cooking them a nice meal, well that’s such a beautiful feeling. 

You can find Downtown Pizzeria at 472 Dean St. They are open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner. Follow them on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates, menu items and much more.