Food has always been on James Lavelle‘s mind. Whether he was working in the financial sector or for Dell Computers, living in Cleveland or Austin or traveling overseas, the importance and craft of food and drink had never been far from his mind.
When he had the ability to find a work base in the Colorado Springs area, he and his family had already been planning to make their way into the restaurant space. They found that place of balance when they took over Basil & Barley from Roberto Calcagno, who had learned his trade of authentic Italian Napoletana pizza in Italy.
“When we were talking to Roberto, the previous owner … he started this place, and you could tell he had a passion. And he had a story, where he studied in Napoli, and grew up in Liguria in Northern Italy.”
Lavelle’s son Andrew, who has always wanted to be in the restaurant business, latched on Roberto’s passion for his craft. Lavelle says they probably sat and talked to Roberto for hours the first time they spoke to him. They were bidding on a different opportunity in Monument, but Calcagno reached out to them and said, “What’s it going to take to get you guys to buy this place?” Lavelle says it was hard for Calcagno to let the restaurant go. Calcagno said Lavelle’s son Andrew (22) reminded him of himself when he was in his 20s. Even though there were other offers, Calcagno just felt the Lavelles were the right fit. “And to me, that gave us kind of that feeling of passing the baton the right way, that he wanted us to continue on with what he started.”
A Sense of Legacy
Lavelle says his son has latched on to that sense of legacy. “Part of what Andrew loves about what we’re doing is the authenticity, the fact that it’s different. It’s fresh. We have quality ingredients.”
Lavelle explains that there is “an artwork to managing the pizza oven with the dough and the balance between the ingredients and what you make of it.” Even with the simple Margherita pizza, which is the basis for Neapolitan style pizza, “There’s a craft to getting it right. And I think that’s what kind of motivates him, not only the desire to continue to innovate and grow the options that we have– we’re looking to make pasta from scratch as opposed to how we’re doing it now – but also to continue to grow and innovate on the menu, while not losing the foundation of what makes us great, which is that classic Neapolitan pizza.”
Lavelle thinks back to the food places he used to go to in Austin as well as abroad as his inspiration. “I’ve eaten at a lot of places, and I’ve eaten at a lot of different countries. And to me, the thing that I’ve always attached to it is the experience.”
This element, to Lavelle, is also reflected in the wine and spirits menu, which they are still developing. “We want to pick a wine that pairs great with certain pizzas or certain styles of food. Or likewise, why do we have a particular type of whiskey or bourbon or craft drinks or beers? I love good, quality craft beers. I love quality wine. My uncle’s been in the wine business since 1972, so it’s always been around my family who’s had an interest in not just drinking for the sake of drinking but drinking because they also appreciate the craft and the art of it.”
“I mean, let’s face it, just like pizza, in wine, you have three ingredients, right? You have water, yeast, and grapes. In the pizza, you got – and even Roberto used to say, ‘You have flour, water, salt, yeast and passion.’”
Surprises in Taste and Palette
Lavelle says his biggest surprise since taking over Basil & Barley is the sheer number of people who want that classic Margherita pizza. “I don’t know about you, but I go to a lot of places and there’s one dish that, especially if I go to an Italian place, I’m going to get whatever that is: their lasagna or their alfredo, and that’s going to be my litmus test for what I think about that restaurant.” It doesn’t affect whether he thinks the restaurant is good but it does form his opinion. “I get a lot of people come in and they just want that classic Margherita style. They either lived in Italy, they grew up in Italy, they spent time in Europe, or they grew up or lived in New York City, and they want that authentic baseline Margherita pizza. And that’s the pizza that they judge me by.”
Some of the unusual pizzas Basil & Barley serves to reflect a wider palette. “Sotto Bosco is another one. It’s made with squash, black truffle, porcini mushrooms and smoked provolone.” It’s one of their more popular pizzas that people gravitate towards.
“Even things like our Quattro Stagioni, which translates to Four Seasons…it’s a sectional pizza with different things on each section. You get people that just really love the uniqueness of it because they can eat a pizza that has some cheese on one side and then some beef on the other and then you get some olives in the middle. People can sit down and say, ‘Man, I’d love to try a little bit of everything in that kind of pizza, right.’”
Understanding Favorites and a Sense of Evolution
Lavelle loves the Basil & Barley signature pizza. “It tastes fresh. We make our pesto in-house, and the crumbs on this unique charcoal dough, everybody kind of looks at and goes, ‘Well, what’s going on there?’” He also highlights their burrata. “I don’t see too many restaurants that serve burrata at all – it is such a unique piece. And the way we serve it with truffles, it’s just rich and really delicious, especially if you’re getting into your first glass of wine … it’s such an amazing appetizer.”
Lavelle is also looking at their evolution. “There’s still a lot of things that we want to do. We also want to really modify the patio to make it kind of in a cozy Italian eatery feel. When you talk about the vibe that we’re going for, that’s it. When you sit outside with maybe a pergola and some greenery around you with some nice fire pits. It [might be] warmer, but you can still see the mountains, which is what makes it great about being here in Colorado Springs. We live in a unique place with the views we have and the people we have. So to merge those two things with a unique experience, that’s the type of place that I would go to and I would want to bring my family to. We’re just really excited about some of the changes we’re making.”
