Carrboro adds a new spot for pizza & gelato. Here’s the grand opening details.

Locally acclaimed Chef Andrew Moore drew on his earliest cooking experiences and his love for loud and fast Formula 1 cars to create his newest restaurant in downtown Carrboro.

Moore opened Autostrada Pizza & Panini in July in Carr Mill Mall, in a corner space that has long housed pizza shops. It has a sister storefront across the hall: Autostrada Gelato & Coffee.

The grand opening is set for Sept. 6-7, during the 95th running of the Italian Grand Prix.

Autostrada’s menu is a straightforward slice of Italian cuisine, featuring handmade pizzas, paninis and salads and premium ingredients, according to a news release. The dough is the star, made from OO Non-GMO flour that is milled and pre-fermented for a Neapolitan thin-crust texture and edges with a soft, pillowy “chew,” the release said.

Vegetarian and gluten-free options are also available.

There’s a similar focus on all-natural ingredients at Autostrada Gelato & Coffee, where customers can relax with a gelato or pastry, accompanied by a cup of locally roasted coffee from Carrboro Coffee Roasters.

Next week’s grand opening will feature daily specials and raise money for Carrboro Elementary School’s PTA:

• Saturday, Sept. 6: Free gelato with any 16-inch pizza purchase. Autostrada will donate 10% of its sales to the Carrboro Elementary School PTA.
• Sunday, Sept. 7: Watch the Italian Grand Prix while munching on the Sunday Supper special of family-style pasta and salad.

Customers can also register online and in person to win restaurant gift cards and other prizes.

“We’re excited to celebrate our opening with the community and can think of no better way than sharing great food and drink, showing the Formula One race, and most importantly raising money for Carrboro Elementary,” Moore said.

Menu draws on experience, travel

Autostrada is named for Italy’s interstate system, which charges drivers a toll to travel between major cities at up to 80 mph. Along the way, travelers can pop into Autogrill rest stations to gas up and buy Italian cuisine, coffee and souvenirs.

Moore, who opened Venable Bistro at the mall in 2012 and the B-Side Lounge in 2014, developed his new concept while exploring the Italian countryside in 2022 and 2024, when his son was studying abroad. But the Culinary Institute of America-trained chef was also raised on Italian cooking, from his first job at Mama’s Boy, a family-owned pizza and pasta shop in Durango, Colorado.

At 17, he enrolled in the CIA before taking a job as an apprentice at iTrulli, a landmark Italian restaurant in New York City. Moore then headed to Italy to hone his skills at Restaurante San Demenico, a two-star Michelin-rated restaurant in the city of Imola.

The city is also home to the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari race track and the Emilia Romagna Gran Prix, where Moore was exposed to Ferrari, McLaren and other well-known Formula One racing teams, according to the restaurant’s website.

“Daily Italian life is centered around pizza, panini, cafe, gelato, family and friends,” Moore said in the news release. “With Autostrada, we want to bring the same lifestyle to Carrboro.”

When to go

• Autostrada Pizza & Panini is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
• Autostrada Gelato & Coffee is open from noon to 8 p.m., seven days a week.

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This story was originally published September 2, 2025 at 8:00 AM.