When Mark Dym moved to Denver in 2008, he left a career in the financial business to start Marco’s Coal-Fired Pizza in the Ballpark neighborhood with his wife, Kristy Dym.
He’d become friends with some of the best pizza makers in Naples, and they schooled him in the art of Old World pizza pies.
In 2015, his restaurant was named by Pizza Today. His pizzerias are the only ones in the state with certification from the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, which grants the status when traditional processes and ingredients are verified as authentic by Naples experts.
(There’s been a name change in the ensuing years to Racca’s Pizzeria Napoletana, because people were confusing Marco’s Coal-Fired Pizza with the Marco’s Pizza chain.)
Dym will soon have a total of four restaurants, — one opens in Colorado Mills mall in April, and another will open in Casper, Wyo.
Recently, pizza fans gathered to meet Dym’s mentors, who include Antonio Starita, a third-generation owner of one of Naples’ oldest pizzerias — one that was immortalized in Sophia Loren’s movie “L’Oro di Napoli.”
Starita, who once made pizza for Pope John Paul II, fired traditional pizzas alongside Roberto Caporuscio, who grew up near Naples and owns the popular Keste Pizza & Vino in Greenwich Village.
Colleen O’Connor: 303-954-1083, coconnor@denverpost.com or @coconnordp
