A new pizzeria called Ghost Pizza has opened in Lake Highlands. It’s owned by Frankie Nuccio, former owner of the popular Preston Hollow fixture Pizza by Marco.
Frankie Nuccio
After a tornado led to a yearslong hiatus, the owner of a popular former Preston Hollow pizzeria is back in the pizza business.
Ghost Pizza opened May 27 in Lake Highlands, near White Rock Lake, in a space that was previously occupied by a pho spot. But before Ghost Pizza, owner Frankie Nuccio operated the beloved Pizza by Marco.
The Pizza by Marco name carries a long history. Nuccio’s dad, Joe Nuccio, originally started the pizzeria in 1949 on Carroll Avenue, before moving to Preston Royal Village, a shopping center in North Dallas’ Preston Hollow neighborhood, in 1962.
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The pizzeria lived at that location for years until it was “blown up” by a tornado in late 2019, Frankie Nuccio said. “The tornado ruined everything,” he said.
A tornado destroyed the original location of Pizza by Marco in October 2019, which led to a yearslong hiatus for the owner, Frankie Nuccio.
Owner Frankie Nuccio
Just a few months before the tornado wiped away Pizza by Marco, Nuccio lost his mother. His father had passed many years before that. With talks of a worldwide pandemic emerging, Nuccio decided to take a step back.
Nuccio ventured into a different kind of business, which he sold last year. He realized it was time to revive the family operation, a decision he felt his parents would have wanted him to make.
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Because of this, he brought back his family’s pizzeria business this year, and he felt the name Ghost Pizza was most fitting for it.
The restaurant couldn’t legally use the name Pizza by Marco because of the pizza chain Marco’s Pizza. Prior to its closure, the spot went by My Family’s Pizza, but Nuccio said people always knew it as Pizza by Marco.
Ghost Pizza is located in Lake Highlands, near White Rock Lake. The original location in Preston Hollow, which was called Pizza by Marco, was destroyed by a tornado in late 2019.
Owner Frankie Nuccio
The legacy pizzeria is not in Preston Hollow this time. It’s in Lake Highlands where Nuccio lives, but he hopes that doesn’t prevent his loyal customers in Preston Hollow from stopping by.
“I’m happy to be back in the business, and I’m hoping some of my old faithful customers will make the 10- to 15-minute drive from Preston Hollow to over here, because it’ll be worth it,” he said.
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Affordable and organic pizza
Ghost Pizza offers something seemingly everyone these days is looking for: affordable food.
For just $3, you can get a big slice of pizza, Nuccio said, and for the entire summer, you can get two large cheese one-topping pizzas for $19.99.
The best part? Nuccio said he serves “a very ‘clean’ pizza,” one that will fill you up but won’t make you feel nasty or bloated later on. It’s because of the ingredients.
The ingredients used at Ghost Pizza are fresh and organic, according to owner Frankie Nuccio.
Owner Frankie Nuccio
Nuccio said he only uses organic ingredients. Organic flour, olive oil, pasta noodles and everything else – such as the meats he uses – are fresh. Further, the restaurant’s appetizers, which includes fried ravioli and mozzarella sticks, are fried in beef tallow, a popular alternative to seed oils.
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The Lake Highlands location of Ghost Pizza is the only one for now, but Nuccio said he may open one or two more locations in the future, maybe even one in Preston Hollow. Nothing’s set in stone just yet.
Ghost Pizza is at 10675 Northwest Highway, Suite 1635, Dallas. ghostpizzadallas.com.