For almost two years, the building at 300 29th St. stood empty, its exterior taunting passing foodies. A sign to the side painted in retro font promised pizza, arancini and gelato. You just knew it was going to be good, if it ever arrived.

After a longer-than-expected renovation to transform the former Cahoots Brothers building, Doppio Pasticceria finally opened its forever home in Baltimore’s Remington neighborhood in February. The line of customers at the Sicilian-style bakery has been more or less out the door ever since.

One bite of their pizza marinara and it’s easy to see why. Americans are used to eating pies with cheese, extra cheese and cheese baked into the crust. But pizza marinara, one of the earliest versions of the dish dating back to the 1700s, features tomato sauce with no cheese. At Doppio Pasticceria, it’s a revelation: the dynamic and rich taste may make you wonder if you’ve really had pizza before.

Owners Luke Ilardo and Meg Cowman hope to challenge people’s preconceived notions about Italian food. Cowman said new customers will occasionally glance at the pastry case and gripe, “My nonna didn’t make it like that.” No offense to anyone’s nonna, but Doppio likely does it better.

Everything on the menu — from pastries to pizzas to soft cheeses that go in the sandwiches, salads and pastas — is made in-house from locally sourced ingredients. Cowman and Ilardo also look toward elsewhere in Europe and the Arab world for menu inspiration, honoring the melting pot of influences that dominated Sicily for centuries.

While awaiting the buildout of their permanent brick and mortar, Cowman and Illardo found success at an R. House stall and the former JBGB’s space. But Cowman said the prime location at the intersection of 29th Street and Remington Avenue has acted like a neon sign, drawing in customers from the neighborhood and beyond. Sales have been significantly better than the owners projected.

At a time when face-to-face interaction and concepts like the village are sorely lacking, Doppio offers a place of community. “Seeing neighbors and families hang out out here together, is, for lack of a better term, the shit,” Ilardo said. The front patio has become a gathering space for the neighborhood during warm weather. “It feels like a block party out here most weekends,” Cowman said.

If those picnic tables on Doppio’s patio look familiar, it’s because they were a gift from Paulie Gee’s owner Kelly Beckham after he closed down his Hampden restaurant a week before Ilardo and Cowman opened their spot. You’ll see a few former Paulie Gee’s employees there now, too. “They’re excellent pizza makers,” Cowman said.

As many restaurants and other small businesses are closing, unable to make the math work amid rising costs and declining sales, Doppio offers a welcome success story. Ilardo and Cowman, who started the business as a farmers market stand in 2022, said launching during the tumultuous post-pandemic period helped prepare the partners for the bumps that have arrived since. They’ve continued to fine-tune their operations as needed. The cafe recently began adding a 15% service fee, which Cowman said not only helps them pay staff, but cushions the wild price fluctuations on ingredients. Ilardo clarified that the full tip amount goes to pay staff.

Additional staff members, including overnight bakers, have been hired to keep up with demand. Someone is prepping or baking inside the space almost 24 hours a day. “We have many different departments, and we’ve figured out a way to orchestrate them all together,” Cowman said. The biggest surprise of the past few months? “How quickly we filled out the space with bodies and ingredients,” Cowman said. The kitchen already feels tight.

And while it still may say “gelato” on the side of the building, that aspect of the restaurant has taken a back seat as the owners scramble to make enough pizzas and arancini for hungry customers. There is not yet a timeline for its availability, though it’s still part of the plan. “Right now, it’s just about battening down the hatches,” said Ilardo, and keeping up with that line.

Also part of the plan? Expanding the business, though Cowman and Ilardo said there’s nothing in the works at the moment. After a few too many 70-hour workweeks in the beginning, “We’re getting some of our work-life balance back,” Cowman said. And Doppio still has a presence at two local farmers markets, Kenilworth Mall and 32nd Street.

Whatever comes next, they’re not likely to take on such an ambitious renovation project again. “It takes so much longer than we thought it would to just build out a shell of a building into a restaurant,” Cowman said. “If we ever expand, it’s going to have to be [in] something that’s already been a restaurant.”

One thing the cafe won’t be changing is its policy on single-use plastics. Doppio Pasticceria doesn’t offer plastic lids for to-go cups, or plastic to-go containers for any of its dishes, no matter how many customers might complain. “There’s enough existential dread in just keeping all of this up and running,” Cowman said. They don’t want to add pollution to the list of anxieties.