SPRINGFIELD — Michael Baez manifests a simple yet hospitable mantra when it comes to his approach working in the food business: bring joy to the customers.
“If you can go to a place and you can sit down and have a good conversation with your family, and you get a nice plate of food, then that’s a place that’s great,” Baez said while standing behind the counter of what will be his new food spot in the Tower Square food court.
At the time he spoke with Reminder Publishing, Baez and his wife Maritza were preparing to open Tower Pizza, their new eatery that combines Puerto Rican inspired sandwiches and specialty calzones with traditional pizza favorites.
Classics like chicken bacon ranch, buffalo chicken and meat lovers’ pizza will share space with a “Mofongo Madness” calzone, jibarito sliders, a “Tower Power” pizza, and much more.
Baez said all their sandwiches they offer, including their very own hot chicken sandwich, will use locally sourced Puerto Rican bread, and many of the proteins on their pizzas will be seasoned with their own special flare.
“We’re seasoning in a way you would find at a Puerto Rican grandma’s house,” Baez said. “It’s still going to be a traditional pizza, but you’re going to get the pepperoni with the hot honey [for example].”
Although this is the first time the family has opened their own stationary food spot, Baez said he has been interested in the food business for most of his life.
Aside from working in some food trucks in the past, Baez has also spent time at some of the most popular restaurants in Western Massachusetts, including Nathan Bill’s and The Student Prince Café and The Fort. He currently works at White Lion Brewing in Tower Square, and at one point, he was a cook at the famous Equinox Resort and Spa in Vermont, which he said is best known for hosting Abraham Lincoln for vacation.
A few years ago, Baez said he was asked if he wanted to open his own spot in Tower Square, but he decided not to at the time. His mind changed though after seeing more people start to return to Tower Square for their jobs, so he reached out to the building management to express interest in opening the lunch location.
“I think now is the right time,” Baez said. “It’s cold outside; nobody wants to go outside to get lunch; plus, I’m giving people something that nobody has out here.”
Tower Pizza is having a soft opening on Jan. 20 and a grander opening with a full menu on Feb. 3.
When asked what he is looking forward to most about the opening, Baez said he is hopeful that more people will come back to Tower Square in the coming months.
“I’m read to rock,” he said. “Hopefully we will see Tower Square open up more and more … and we’re right in the center of it.”
