Sandwich shop by day and pizza parlor by night, The Last Round Tavern in San Jose manages its split personality exceptionally well.
Owner Caleb Orozco uses his homemade sourdough bread and thin-crust pizza dough as a base for identical ingredients, such as in-house braised brisket and pulled pork, to create two distinct and delicious menus that mix the traditional and the original.
“The menus are kept small, and that’s intentional,” Orozco told San José Spotlight. “We want to hold it down to the things we do right. When you run slim, you just become more resourceful.”
The variations on the Cubano are a case in point. As a sandwich, the Black Forest ham, salami and 14-hour braised pulled pork are served with Swiss cheese and pickles on a chewy, fresh-baked sourdough roll. The pizza version has the same meat, but adds garlic sauce, pepperoncini and spinach. It hits all the notes and might be the best all-meat combo you’ve ever had.
Orozco, 31, graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in city planning. After five years of matching vacant properties to investors, his contract was up — and he was looking for something new.
He opened sandwich shop Genuine Heroes with his father, an amateur chef, on Silver Creek Valley Road. While Orozco handled the business end of the shop, he also absorbed his father’s cooking techniques. They later moved to the current location — the former Nick’s Pizza — on East Santa Clara Street and opened as The Last Round Tavern in 2019.
Pizza wasn’t on the menu at first, until one night when Orozco came in late and hungry.
“I cranked the ovens at three in the morning,” he said. “I made (the crust) super thin, spread the sauce and cheese all the way to the edge and threw it in the oven. Then I started making it for friends or whoever knew about it. The more we brought it out, the more people would ask about it.”
Orozco is justifiably proud of his crisp sourdough pizza crust — buttery and light, but firm enough to carry ingredients without becoming limp or soggy. The crust has an array of fine bubbles on the outer edges that Orozco said he worked hard to perfect.
“One of my goals was to figure out how to get those little micro-blisters on our pizza crust and sourdough rolls,” he said. “That is a sign of the right fermentation and what the science creates in the oven.”
Customer Steven Kaley ordered a half Wrigleyville and half Pride of Philly pizza on his second visit: one side with hot giardiniera, sausage and chopped garlic and the other side with pulled pork, garlic sauce, provolone and fresh arugula.
He’s impressed by the Wrigleyville, saying the peppers’ flavor and heat make the pizza particularly distinctive.
“It’s not what most people would think of as spicy,” Kaley told San José Spotlight. “It’s got a really good kick and a really good balance. The sausage is super fresh, and the cheese is perfect. It’s done right.”
The ciabatta-style bread served at lunch is also made from scratch and from a sourdough base. Besides the standard deli fare — like the Italian Special, made with ham, soppressata, coppa and provolone — there are specialty sandwiches like the freshly baked herbed turkey and the house meatball, which comes with a splendid sweet-tart marinara sauce.
There are also weekly sandwich specials, like the 14-hour braised brisket made with sharp cheddar, garlic aioli and hot giardiniera, and chicken parmesan with fresh mozzarella.
Orozco said production limits keep the day and evening menus separate for the moment, but he hopes to serve a unified menu with all current options by early next year.
“I’ve learned to develop a system,” he told San José Spotlight. “I have been having to learn on the job, which has been tough, but I think it will serve me in the long run. I have a great team, but the only way to lead them is by example.”
Contact Robert Eliason at [email protected].
Editor’s Note: The Biz Beat is a series highlighting local small businesses and restaurants in Silicon Valley. Know a business you’d like to see featured? Let us know at [email protected].
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