Joe Cave: a True Pizzaiolo At Work At The Pizza Cave on 290 West
I love the New York style pies that Joe Cave serves at The Pizza Cave on 290 West near Dripping Springs.
He and his wife Susan run one of the most popular pizza joints in the area. Yet ironically, Joe’s roots are not in New York City as one might expect – as it happens, he hails from West Texas. A series of IT jobs eventually took him to New Jersey where he became enamored with the local pizzas.
But it was more than just New Jersey pizza that inspired Joe. His family, and particularly his mother, had long been fascinated with Italian cooking. As a result, Joe had recipes and a lineage of making pastas and pizza. In New Jersey, he and his wife Sue (who has a degree in architecture from the University of Texas) decided to move back to the Austin area which both were familiar with. (Joe’s family had moved to Round Rock from West Texas.) They chose Dripping Springs as Joe’s grandparents had owned some land there.
Joe became frustrated because he couldn’t find any of the pizzas they had enjoyed in New Jersey and thus was born the original Pizza Cave at Highway 290 West and Highway 12. It opened in 2012 and immediately found a strong local following. More recently, Joe and Sue opened the new Pizza Cave on 290 adjacent to the Sleep Inn.
And so Joe’s iconic journey through the commingled worlds of IT and Italian food continues. I can’t wait to see what new pizza creations he brings to his Hill Country restaurant.
The Pizza Cave
2690 E Hwy 290
Dripping Springs, TX 78620
(512) 829-4157
