Restaurants have always been a big part of Curtis Fullerton’s world. When he was around 7 years old, his mom opened the popular brunch restaurant Schooner or Later and changed the trajectory of his life.
“I grew up around that little waterfront diner, and that was my playground,” Fullerton said. “I apparently didn’t learn any better to get away from the restaurant business, and so I just entrenched myself in it.”
After years of learning the ins and outs, Fullerton is building his own legacy and finally bringing the ideas that he has had for 20 years to life. This week, he opened Anna’s Pizza Joint just a couple of blocks away from his childhood home in Belmont Shore.
The shop comes out of a partnership that started four years ago.
In 2022, Elliot Lewis — who owns Catalyst Cannabis — opened Anna’s Joint next to his downtown Long Beach dispensary. According to Fullerton, Lewis initially painted all the walls black and wanted to run it as a dive bar, but his wife Anna wasn’t very pleased with her name being on something like that. Lewis asked Fullerton to help them improve the space.
Fullerton quickly went from being a consultant to a business partner, and Anna’s Joint has grown into a bustling neighborhood bar, market and sandwich shop
Last year, Fullerton and Lewis were looking into opening another restaurant in the old Grunion Gazette office until they found the space nearby on the corner of Second Street and Santa Ana Avenue. Though not next door to a Catalyst dispensary as the Grunion office would’ve been, the space proved to be just what they needed.
“We were able to carve out a nice deal with the landlord and step into a place that had just been mostly remodeled, like four years ago. The kitchen, the bathrooms, and all that expensive stuff was already done, and it already had all these cool garage doors. It just was a good palette for what I wanted to do,” Fullerton said.
One wrinkle, it was right next to Domenico’s, a Long Beach pizza institution for more than 70 years. Fullerton, though, thinks the two restaurants will co-exist easily as they fulfill different needs.
While Domenico’s is a full-service restaurant that is rich in history, Anna’s Pizza Joint has a more casual setup where customers can order by the slice for a quick lunch if they don’t want a full pizza.
They offer everything from the classic pepperoni to more unique flavors such as the Mother Clucker (creamy onion garlic sauce, mozzarella, provolone, roasted lime chicken, avocado and pesto drizzle) and the White Boy (extra virgin olive oil, whipped ricotta, mozzarella, provolone, mortadella, pistachio and hot honey).
Currently, they only have New York-style pizzas, but they will start serving Detroit-style and gluten-free Grandma Squares in the next couple of weeks.
They also offer ice cream from Seaside Creamery and sandwiches made with garlic knots. Fullerton said he is excited to bring something new to Belmont Shore and to see how the culture develops.
“I loved having a front row seat to what Anna’s Joint down on Pine and Fifth created,” he said. “I’m really interested to see if we can develop a lot of the same things here in Belmont Shore, but with a Belmont Shore personality.”
As they settle into the new business, Fullerton says, they welcome feedback and will adapt to best suit the customers’ needs. They’re planning a grand opening in the coming weeks and hope to install some arcade games soon.
Anna’s Pizza Joint is at 5351 Second St. Soft opening hours are Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.