Mountain Mike's Pizza Opens First Temecula Location

TEMECULA, CA — Temecula has a new pizza joint with a long heritage. Mountain Mike's Pizza opened Monday at Temecula Town Center, 27644 Ynez Road. The spot is the first of two in the city planned by franchisee Robby Basati, who owns seven Mountain Mike’s locations throughout the Inland Empire. A second Temecula location will open at 39628 Winchester Road, across from Chaparral High School, although a firm date has not been announced.

The Mountain Mike's brand has been around for more than 40 years — with more than 200 locations along the West Coast and Utah. The restaurant is known for its pepperoni pizza covered from edge to edge with mini crispy, curly pepperonis, and its 20-inch "Mountain-sized" pizzas. The menu also features signature pies like Everest and The McKinley, boneless and bone-in wings, garlic bread, mozzarella sticks, an all-you-can-eat salad bar, and a selection of beer and wine.

The Mountain Mike's ambiance is sporty, with a large party room and big screen TVs throughout, designed as a spot for sports teams, family gatherings and group fundraising events.

Opening during the coronavirus pandemic is challenging, but Basati took it on.

“We are thrilled to make our Temecula debut with the option for our new guests to dine-in and experience the signature Mountain Mike’s environment. However, we are highly mindful of those who would prefer to eat at home, so we’ve taken extra precautions for takeout and delivery, such as adding tamper-proof seals and the option to order contactless delivery,” Basati said. “We are proud to open our doors in Temecula and, no matter how guests choose to experience Mountain Mike’s legendary pizza, we are ready and excited to begin serving our new community.”

To ensure guests feel confident about their dine-in experience, Mountain Mike's is adhering to state and federal health and safety guidelines, such as employees wearing masks and gloves, and sections of the dining room was blocked off to create physical distancing.

Guests can also place orders through any of Mountain Mike’s third-party delivery partners — DoorDash, Grubhub, Uber Eats and Postmates.

“It’s our goal to become integrated members of the Temecula community while giving our new friends and neighbors peace-of-mind when ordering from Mountain Mike’s," Basati said.

The new Mountain Mike’s location is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. For additional information about Mountain Mike’s Pizza, visit www.mountainmikespizza.com.