Pizza Grace brings fine-dining care to a casual table — Meet Bham’s James Beard nominees

This year, Birmingham’s restaurants garnered an impressive five James Beard Award nominations. Bham Now is sitting down with each nominee to learn more about their backgrounds, inspiration and goals.

Located in Mercantile on Morris, Pizza Grace takes a “maximalist approach to toppings,” according to the Michelin Guide. This “Bib Gourmand” restaurant has perfected its menu offerings, from the large pizzas to the savory meatballs.

Today, the restaurant is owned by Big Spoon Creamery owners and husband-wife duo Ryan and Geri-Martha O’Hara, who were both nominated for Best Chef in the South for the James Beard Awards. Despite having only been at the pizzeria since May 2025, the O’Haras have made their mark, both keeping the original flair of Pizza Grace while upgrading some key elements to improve the customer experience.

• Pizza Grace: 659-202-0133 | Website | Facebook | Instagram
• Address: 2212 Morris Ave Suite 105, Birmingham
• Hours: Sunday 11AM-9PM, closed Monday, Tuesday-Thursday 11AM-9PM, Friday-Saturday 11AM-10PM

Here are the highlights from our conversation with Chefs Ryan and Geri-Martha O’Hara, edited for clarity and readability.

Can you tell me what inspired you to get into the culinary industry?

Ryan O’Hara: Yeah, sure. I sort of fell into a culinary career by accident. I started working in restaurants while I was in college just as a job to help pay bills. I started as a busboy and a dishwasher, and then my boss offered me a promotion and told me I could either be a server or I could be a cook.

The only reason I chose to be a cook was because my friends were cooks and it seemed attractive to me. So I started cooking and fell in love with it and decided to move back to Birmingham and got a job at Bottega and just kept pursuing it.

Geri-Martha O’Hara: I graduated from the University of Alabama with an entrepreneurship degree, and while I was in the business school at Alabama, I was really thinking about food the whole time. I loved to cook. I always cooked for my friends. I was just ready to get back to living in a real house with a kitchen and cooking again.

I thought everyone felt that way, and I didn’t realize that not everyone did. My whole life revolved around recipes and foods I’d eaten. After I graduated, everyone was going to grad school or law school, and I was just trying to figure out where I fit in and what my next path was.

I realized I really wanted to cook, and instead of going to culinary school, I just started cooking in kitchens. That felt like the right thing to do instead of fast-tracking it. I started cooking and realized I really loved it, then moved into pastry and really fell in love with that.

I went to New York for three months and worked in some really great restaurants, then came back and worked for Frank Stitt. I just fell in love with food — the atmosphere, the culture, creating things with my hands.

When y’all took over Pizza Grace about a year ago, what was your vision going forward?

Ryan O’Hara: I think what attracted us to Pizza Grace was that the sourdough was really great, and we felt like it had a strong foundation. We had a vision for expanding the menu and bringing in our background from fine dining restaurants and what we’ve been doing at Big Spoon for the past 12 years.

That meant applying fine dining techniques to pizza, expanding with more small plates, using Geri-Martha’s pastry background to build a strong dessert menu, and creating a more complete experience — not just great pizza.

We also wanted to create a great hospitality experience, which involved rebranding, reworking the dining room, expanding the wine program with Golden Age, and adding a draft beer program — all with the goal of having a fun, complete dining experience at a fairly affordable price.

When people think of James Beard Awards, they usually think of fine dining. What does it mean to y’all to represent more of a casual experience?

Ryan O’Hara: I think it’s about bringing the same level of care, love, and commitment to excellence that we learned in fine dining into a casual restaurant. You can still have excellent food and attention to detail in a casual atmosphere at a reasonable price. That’s something we’re proud of, and we’re grateful the James Beard Foundation recognizes that.

What’s it been like working together for so long?

Ryan O’Hara: I’ve been working with her since before we were a couple. We went from coworkers and friends to dating, engaged, and now married for 12 years — business partners for 12 years.

We understand each other really well, and we’re aligned on our goals and our approach to food and hospitality. The biggest challenge is turning work off at home.

Geri-Martha O’Hara: I think the secret is respecting each other, bringing our best and staying in our lanes. I handle pastry — desserts, ice cream development — and Ryan handles hospitality and the kitchen. We always ask each other’s opinion, but there’s a lot of trust.

Ryan O’Hara: That trust is essential. We know each other has our part handled. We cross over and help each other out whenever needed.

Who do you admire in the Birmingham culinary scene?

Ryan O’Hara: The easy answer is Frank and Pardis Stitt. Working under them at Bottega, Chez FonFon and Highlands Bar & Grill shaped who we are, both professionally and personally. There are others too — Rob and Emily McDaniel, I really respect what they’ve built at Helen and Bayonet. We have lots of friends in the industry, but those are the ones who really stand out.

Geri-Martha O’Hara: Adam Grusin, the culinary director for the Stitts. We’ve both worked for him, and he manages all the menus. He’s like a big brother to me. He never cuts corners and is always pushing himself.

What are your favorite items on the menu right now?

Ryan O’Hara: Our menu changes a lot, but right now, a newer dish I’m really proud of and love is the gnudi with brown butter, sage, and toasted hazelnuts. For pizza, the sausage pizza with collard greens and bagna càuda, which is like a garlic and anchovy sauce.

Geri-Martha O’Hara: I love the pistachio tiramisu dessert. It’s kind of iconic here. And the mortadella pizza.

What do you want people in Birmingham to know about you or Pizza Grace?

Ryan O’Hara: We’re committed to the highest quality — our dough is naturally leavened with a 25-year-old sourdough starter, which is rare in pizza. We’re pride ourselves on using the best ingredients, from the meats and cheeses we source to working with local farmers to source locally and in season for as much as we possible can.

This isn’t a stuffy, fine dining, white tablecloth environment. Michelin Guide described us as a ‘rambunctious pizzeria,’ and I kind of love that. This is meant to be fun — lively, energetic — we’re gonna have great music playing, you can come here and have a fantastic bottle of wine from Golden Age, have some great pizza and enjoy a fun environment — you do all that for a date night under $100, I think it’s kind of rare.

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