New name for a favorite Gig Harbor restaurant, but white pizza is still on the menu

Danielle Taylor couldn’t let a piece of her childhood be swept away. So when Spiro’s Pizza and Pasta, a longtime Gig Harbor landmark, closed its doors last year, she stepped in.

The result is Bella Femmina, the harbor’s newest restaurant, opened defiantly in the teeth of a pandemic.

“It’s been very scary,” Taylor said. “Not just financially, but not knowing on a weekly basis on how things will progress. Not knowing if you will have 25 percent capacity, 50 percent, it’s been scary. But at the same time, it’s exciting.

“With all the restriction, all the extra sanitization,” Taylor added. “In my 35 years of restaurant business, this looks nothing like it used to be. It’s still exciting nonetheless.”

Taylor, 48, lives in Peacock Hill with her husband Ben, daughter Bella, 13, the restaurant’s namesake, and son Nicholas, 26.

Growing up in Gig Harbor, she used always to eat at Spiros, an Italian restaurant known for its white pizza.

“It was your good neighborhood family restaurant,” said Taylor.

Spiros, which has been a fixture of the Gig Harbor Marina and Boatyard since 1996, closed a year ago when the owners retired. Taylor and her family, with an investment from the marina, bought the business in January.

“For me personally, I have so much history at this specific restaurant growing up,” Taylor said. “We had pizza parties here, it’s been a community restaurant for so many years. When the opportunity came up, I wanted to make sure it stayed in business for the community. I couldn’t let it go.”

Taylor has 35 years experience in food, including a stint running her own catering business, called Crave Catering, in Gig Harbor.

“I got my first restaurant job at 17 as a pantry chef at Café Pacific and worked my way to the restaurant manager position after 3 years in the kitchen,” she said. The owner, John Hatcher, is still my dear friend and mentor after 32 years.”

She’s been a bartender at the Shoreline and the Harvester, restaurant manager at the SeaTac Marriott, and the last six years has been hospitality manager at the Gig Harbor Marina & Boatyard, a job she’ll retain.

Bella Femmina (“pretty woman”) opened for to-go orders on October 3.

“We had a couple in yesterday that saw it on Facebook and said, ‘Oh my goodness, we loved this place for so many years,’” Taylor said. “They took the time to call and say how good the food was and how excited they were.”

Bella Femmina is the classic Italian family restaurant, serving everything from pasta, pizza and chopped salad.

“One of my favorite dishes is a five-meat sauce that slow cooks for about four hours,” Taylor said. “The sauce is poured over fresh spaghetti and a creamy blue cheese sauce.”

Along with new recipes, Taylor made sure to include favorites from Spiros, such as the white pizza. This is a pizza with fresh spinach, diced bacon, black olives, pine nuts, pepperoni, layered on roasted garlic white sauce and covered in Italian cheese blend.

“Spiros being in the community for so many years, we brought back their white pizza,” Taylor said. “As soon as people heard about our restaurant opening up, they asked about the white pizza.”

The menu is a collaboration among Taylor, general manager Jacques Henry and chef Dallas Woodruff. A sampling: Bella’s Special Spaghetti with five-meat sauce; braised beef over buratta-stuffed spinach ravioli with a roasted garlic and bleu cheese alfredo.

Woodruff was a protege of Aaron Grissom, a nationally known chef who died recently in a motorcycle accident.

“He’s the guy who gave me my own voice and food,” Woodruff said. “Like, ‘Here are the ingredients, what would you do?’”

At Bella Femina, “I walked in, and Danielle already had the recipes, but they allowed me to bring in my ideas of how I want things done. The pizza dough is 100 percent mine, the plating. They’ve given me the ability to show how I want to work.”

Family dining will be a trademark at Bella Femmina, with large portions of pasta, salad, and a breadbasket that easily feeds a family of four. These family choices cost around $55 to $60.

The fixtures in the restaurant are all brand new. They increased the bar capacity from 20 to 40 people. The bar is named Monkey’s Bar, after Taylor’s son Nicholas, whose nickname is Monkey. Marty Liquigan, the longtime bartender at Spiros, has been retained.

“It’s really all about family here,” Taylor said.

Once Bella Femina opens for in-person dining, Taylor said, her 13-year-old daughter will be helping as a hostess.

Open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday, Bella Femmina is currently to-go only. To place an order, call 253-358-3438. To find the current menu visit https://www.facebook.com/gigharbormarina

This story was originally published October 14, 2020 at 11:23 AM.