One door closes, another opens

WAITSBURG - Returning from a trip to Tuscany, Tom and Judy Bennett brought their new-found love of Neapolitan pizza home to Walla Walla. In 2018, they opened Fiasco, a mobile catering business with a wood-fired pizza oven on a vintage truck.

In 2022, the couple scaled up their enterprise by opening American 35 in Waitsburg's former American Legion building. They expanded the kitchen and dining room and opened the restaurant to Main Street with two large glass garage doors. But the real star of the show is the custom-made, orange, wood-fired oven.

The Bennetts made the restaurant a destination, offering pizzas, salads, creative cocktails, and live entertainment. They booked bands, swing dance classes, burlesque, and taught pizza-making. The ultra-suave and velvet-jacketed Rich Lather (Tom) hosted Trivia nights and bingo.

The building had been vacant after the prior owner, Charles Smith, closed The Anchor Bar.

"This building made us love it," said Judy Bennett. "It told us what it wanted to be, and we listened."

The couple took on the challenge of utilizing the entire space, which required extensive remodeling. It now uses all three sections of the old American Legion Post 35 with an open pizza kitchen, a large prep kitchen, a pool room, and a cocktail bar. The Bennetts also purchased the adjacent lot from the city to add outdoor seating and occasional ax-throwing space.

This year, the Bennetts began working on a new restaurant in Walla Walla. They will bring much from American 35, including familiar faces, Neopolitan-style pizza, and decadent desserts. However, the name will stay with the former legion post building. The couple is returning to the original name, Fiasco, for their new venture.

Tom Bennett said the plan is to open the new restaurant on May 1, contingent on furniture delivery and final permitting.

Fiasco will offer a counter-service bar around the new pizza oven so diners can interact with the pizzaiolos. A second cocktail bar and table seating will be towards the back of the restaurant, with the pizza bar front and center.

American 35 will close on March 30. However, the building, including the wood-fired oven, is for sale and is ready for its next adventure.