There is a pizzeria in Richardson that most people drive right past. No sign on the building, no marquee, no indication from the street that anything remarkable is happening inside. Just a small space at 514 Lockwood Drive, next door to Lockwood Distilling, where Maen Azzam and Sonia Khan are making some of the most serious Neapolitan pizza in North Texas.
The place is called Farina in Grani. It opened in November 2024 and came out of the pandemic the way a lot of the best food businesses do — from boredom and obsession. Khan started baking during lockdown, moved on to pizza, made it for family and friends, then catered events with a portable oven, then decided to do it for real. The name means “flour in grains” and refers to the whole-grain wheat flour they use in the dough — germ, bran, and endosperm together — which gives the crust its signature golden color and a depth of flavor you don’t get from refined flour.
The dough is made fresh daily and fermented for structure. Every pizza is baked in a Stefano Ferrara wood-fired oven, which is the oven serious Neapolitan operations use. The tomato sauce is DOP San Marzano. The cheese and flour are imported from Italy.
The menu is nine pizzas, one salad, and a handful of desserts. Short by design, and every item earns its place.
On the red pie side, the Antica Margherita is the baseline — fior di latte mozzarella, San Marzano tomato sauce, basil, Pecorino Romano, extra virgin olive oil — and it’s the kind of margherita that makes you realize how many versions of it you’ve been settling for. The Margherita con Bufala swaps in mozzarella di bufala when available. The Vesuvio is the one to order if you want heat — San Marzano sauce and basil topped with fresh stracciatella and hot Calabrian chili oil. It earns its volcanic name.
The Rustica is the vegetarian option worth knowing about: fior di latte, San Marzano, Sicilian olives, cremini mushrooms, basil, and Pecorino Romano. The Spicy Wagyu Salume uses fire-roasted peppers and spicy Wagyu beef salame, and the Terra e Mare — their most talked-about pie — combines fior di latte, Pecorino Romano, stracciatella, housemade Italian lamb sausage, red peppers, garlic-infused olive oil, fresh arugula, and sumac. It’s not a combination you’ve had before.
The white pies are just as strong. The Profumata has fior di latte, smoked Provola, cremini mushrooms, truffle, and garlic, finished with fresh arugula. The Melanzana Bianca layers smoked Provola, fior di latte, Pecorino Romano, grilled eggplant, garlic, Calabrian chili flakes, sun-dried tomatoes, and basil — one of the more complex things on the menu. The Tre Formaggi keeps it clean: fior di latte, smoked Provola, Pecorino Romano, cherry tomatoes, basil, and Sicilian extra virgin olive oil.
There’s also a white pizza topped with thinly sliced Wagyu beef bresaola, fresh arugula, Pecorino Romano, Sicilian sea salt, and extra virgin olive oil.
The Organic Arugula Salad — cherry tomatoes, Sicilian olive medley, shaved Pecorino Romano, and house dressing — is worth ordering alongside a pie. For dessert, the Tiramisù is made with ladyfingers, espresso, fresh mascarpone cream, and cocoa powder. The Crostatina al Limone di Amalfi is a citrus custard in a Sicilian tart shell. There’s also a Mousse di Nocciola — hazelnut mousse in a Sicilian tart shell with crunchy chocolate pearls — and a Pera e Ricotta, ricotta and pear cream between hazelnut biscuits.
The bar is fully non-alcoholic — Italian sodas, Sicilian sparkling drinks, housemade mocktails. The restaurant is halal. They occasionally add Middle Eastern specials alongside the Neapolitan menu, including a za’atar calzone and Akawi cheese pie, which tells you something about who they are and where they come from. None of this is advertised loudly. It’s just how they operate.
Farina in Grani is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and again from 4 to 8 p.m., Saturday noon to 8 p.m., and Sunday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call (945) 349-7897. Look for the distillery next door. You won’t see a sign — at least not yet.
