HOUSTON –
Houston Life Co-Host Courtney Zavala sat down with Fuzzy's pizza owner Fuzzy Hajar to dish about his legendary Houston pizza restaurant and relationship with the Bush family.
C: Fuzzy, you didn’t grow up eating pizza, let’s be clear.
F: No, I didn’t. I’m from Syria and during that time when I was there we didn’t have pizza. It’s getting more popular recently back home, but at that time my mother cooked Syrian food, and that’s what we ate. But we came here, and I worked with my cousin in Chicago who had a Mediterranean restaurant. At that restaurant he had pizza, and we started making pizzas there you know, Chicago style pizza. Since then I fell in love with it and I came to Houston and I worked as a manager at an Italian pizza restaurant. I learned more and got more practice, then opened my own restaurant 35 years ago.
C: It’s so great, and you also have such a beautiful relationship with the Bush family.
F: I really do, Mr. Bush I loved him dearly. We loved Barbara too, me and my wife. They were great people, a great family. He came here and asked me, “Fuzzy, how is business?” He worried about me, you know? He told people “Fuzzy is the American dream. He came here to this country, he had 50 dollars and he made himself. Look where he is today.” And he was so proud, he told everybody about Fuzzy. He tells them “This is the American dream, you come to this country, you work hard, make yourself. That’s what America is all about.”
C: What is the reason so many people come back to Fuzzy’s? The awards, the titles, the articles, and the relationship with Bushes… is it because what you put in your pizza?
F: That, and I’m very generous and I love people too. I love everybody in Houston, all over. You know, honestly when you tell me “I love the pizza, I enjoy it,” it makes me really happy. I love hearing people and seeing people happy. They come here and eat pizza and be happy, and tell me “Fuzzy, it’s the best, it’s the best,” you know, it makes my day every day.
C: What was the Bush’s favorite pizza when they would come here?
F: They would eat pepperoni sometimes but we have a pizza for Mr. Bush called the George Bush Pizza, the President pizza. It has everything on it- pepperoni, sausage, Canadian bacon, mushroom, onion, green pepper and artichoke hearts. Barbara Bush’s pizza was a little healthier. She was on the health side, you know. It had spinach, artichoke, chicken and mushroom. It’s delicious too. The spinach we cook it in olive oil and garlic it’s so delicious.
You can visit the original location of Fuzzy's Pizza at 823 Antoine, south of I-10 across the freeway from IKEA.
Contact them at 713-682-8836 or visit their website here.