The More the Merrier: Vecchia’s Newest Addition

A popular pizzeria expands to offer a fully authentic Italian experience in the heart of Hoover's The Preserve neighborhood.

After almost 25 years together (11 married), Benard and Brianna Tamburello, the husband and wife team that created Vecchia Pizzeria & Mercato, know a thing or two about food and what brings a family together. They’re not just creating a place to eat, but an entire experience stemming from Benard’s rich Italian-American heritage with strong Sicilian roots. With that knowledge and love, they’ve recently added to the Vecchia brand with the opening of Vecchia Gelato & Café in November 2025.  

“While Benard had always dreamed of opening a pizza restaurant, I loved the idea of expanding that vision into a true mercato,” adds Brianna. “From imported pastas and specialty flours to house-made dressings, sauces, ready-to-heat meals, and our Vecchia Italian Sausage products, the market side allows guests to bring the Vecchia experience home. We even added a retail wine and craft beer shop to complete it.”  

With the opening of their newest addition, Enjoy Hoover was curious to learn more about this spirited couple and their future plans for the Hoover culinary scene.  

EH: Why pizza & gelato? 

Brianna: We wanted to bring the feeling of Italy to Alabama—no plane ticket required. What started as a pizza obsession evolved into a full Italian lifestyle experience. At the café, that means espresso, gelato, Sicilian street food, and pastries imported from Milan alongside favorites from incredible local bakeries, like Tina’s Market and Nasoloda. 

EH: How did you first become involved in the restaurant world? 

Benard: Food has always been my life. I started young, experimenting in my own kitchen — frozen pizzas, fresh toppings, anything I could get my hands on. My father was a private-label food buyer for the Bruno’s grocery family, so our house was always filled with new foods to try. 

After my father’s tragic passing in 1986, I found myself working at my uncle’s restaurant, Gus’s Hot Dogs. Within a year, I bought it from him — and I’ve never looked back. Over the past 30+ years, I’ve owned and operated several restaurants in the Birmingham area, beginning with Gus’s Hot Dogs in 1992, followed by Bernie’s Grill in Chelsea and Bernie’s on Main in Columbiana. I was also a founding chef partner in La Dolce Vita and Bellini’s in Hoover. 

EH: Did you attend culinary school? 

Benard: I didn’t take a traditional culinary school path. I learned in real kitchens, from real people, over decades of hands-on work—from hot dogs and breakfast counters to Southern meat-and-three cooking and Tuscan-style fine dining. Travel has also been one of my greatest teachers, especially throughout Italy. Spending time with millers, cheesemakers, bakers, and pizzaiolos completely shaped how I cook and how I think about food. 

EH: Is the restaurant life generational? 

Brianna: My family has deep roots in food and beverage as well. My grandparents opened the Daylight Café in the 1960s and Banks Lounge in the 1970s. Vecchia is built on that same foundation — a place for gathering, celebrating milestones, and creating memories around the table. 

EH: What is it like living and working together daily? 

Brianna: It’s intense—but incredibly rewarding. We’re very different thinkers, and that’s our secret. We let each other operate in our strengths. Benard shines in creativity, recipes, and kitchen leadership. I handle the structure, branding, front-of-house, and business side. Every major decision is still made together. 

Benard: We trust each other. We know when to step in and when to step back. I oversee menu development, recipes, sourcing, gelato direction, VPN pizza standards, and kitchen leadership. We also teach our Vecchia cooking classes together—which guests love because it’s part cooking demo, part life stories. At the end of the day, we are building something for our family and our community.

EH: What made you choose the Preserve? 

Brianna: It felt like a true community hub—a place we would personally spend time, raise our kids around, and build something meaningful. The best part is the people. Watching kids grow up. Hosting birthdays. Seeing neighbors meet for coffee and couples on date night. 

Benard: The Preserve has heart. People walk, gather, linger. It reminded us of Italian neighborhoods where cafés and pizzerias are part of daily life. Being across from Moss Rock Preserve also created a destination feel—dinner, coffee, nature, all in one experience. It truly feels like an extension of our home. 

EH: Why did you decide to open Vecchia Gelato & Café?  

Benard: Every time we traveled through Italy, we found ourselves in small cafés and gelato shops. It was always part of the Vecchia vision. In Italy, gelato isn’t dessert—it’s daily life. We wanted to recreate that feeling. 

Brianna: The café lets us connect with guests differently—morning espresso, after-school gelato, evening treats. We proudly serve Kimbo Coffee, imported from Naples, for our espresso program, along with locally roasted DaySol Coffee for drip coffee. Supporting small businesses—both Italian and local—is very important to us. 

EH: Do you make your gelato and pastries fresh in-store? 

Benard: Our gelato is crafted in small batches using traditional Italian methods and premium ingredients. Many of the recipes I’ve collected over the years appear not only in our pastry case, but also on our Sicilian street-food menu. We constantly rotate flavors and offerings seasonally. 

Brianna: We also import select pastries directly from Italy and partner with talented local bakers. That balance allows us to offer authenticity, variety, and the highest quality. 

EH: Are there plans for future development? 

Brianna: We’re always dreaming—more experiences, more classes, more community connections. Stay tuned! 

Benard: But we’re intentional…growth for us is about quality, not quantity! Maybe one day we complete our Italian block with a true Italian market.