A new pub and pizzeria is about to join the eclectic collection of locally owned retail shops and restaurants along Gulfport’s Beach Boulevard.

Owners Tom Lussiano and Larisa Curbelo are putting the finishing touches on Tommy’s Hideaway, located at 3121 Beach Boulevard South, formerly occupied by Dog Pier Hot Dog Shop (and Salty’s Sandwich Bar before that), and they expect the restaurant to open during the first week of February.

The menu is still under development, but Lussiano and Curbelo say they’ll serve a wide variety of pizzas, including gluten-free options, baked in a traditional ceramic, wood-fired oven, along with chicken wings and tenders, clam pies, cast-iron skillet shrimp scampi and a selection of Italian subs made with in-house, freshly baked bread.

They also plan to serve an Italian dessert known as zeppole, which consists of fried dough filled with strawberry or raspberry filling or Nutella. As a bonus, kids will be able to make their own pizza and watch it cook in the oven.

The oven itself, Lussiano says, will be the eatery’s “focal point — the first thing you see when you walk in and sit at the bar. It cooks at about 850 to 1,000 degrees, so it cooks quickly, and the pizza will be light and airy. We’re working with a couple of chefs, trying some different doughs, different seasonings, but we just want it to be authentic. 

He adds, “When Larissa and I went to Italy for a couple of weeks, we fell in love with the fresh ingredients and the little 12-inch pizza pies that were so flavorful. They taste delicious and are something that you crave. That’s what we’re going after.”

Lussiano, 30-year a veteran of big national restaurant brands such as Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse, and Red Lobster, knows a thing or two about restaurants, but Tommy’s Hideaway is his first attempt to develop a restaurant using his own funds, without the support of a major, deep-pocketed corporation. He admits it’s a risk, but one that he feels comfortable with at this point in his life.

“The past three years I was vice president of Miller’s Ale House,” he says. “I was commuting to Orlando, doing a lot of international travel. Larissa and I were leaning toward, ‘Hey, what is our exit strategy? What do we want to do when we get old?’”

The couple reside in Indian Rocks Beach but when they discovered that the Dog Pier Hot Dog Shop property was available in Gulfport, they saw, according to Lussiano, “a great opportunity to get out of the corporate world and do something on our own. This was just a great little tucked-away spot, and we didn't want to take on something too big.”

Tommy’s Hideaway will offer seating for 30 people inside and 40 outside, including a walk-up bar that can seat 12 patrons, and dogs will be welcome.

Follow the Tommy’s Hideaway Instagram page for updates.