Pizza Orgasmica to Burst Onto Fourth Street

The long empty spot that housed Rafter's Grille &  Brewery at 812 Fourth St. is being revived and will open in mid-December as  Pizza Orgasmica & Brewing Co. 

It will be the fourth outlet of the local chain and it will be bigger than owner Taylor Maia's other locations in San Francisco — and will feature an onsite brewery, using equipment left behind by Rafter's and the old Willow Street Pizza.

If you ask Taylor Maia, owner-founder of the pizza parlors about the name, he will say wryly, "It's the best name – we own it."

Maia says that he and his wife, Gina, will redecorate the interior, as they have in all their venues in San Francisco.

When Orgasmica debuts, expect Maia's signature thick and thin crust pizzas, plus salads and what Maia says will be "a special surprise menu for San Rafael."

Maia is from Brazil, where both his parents were prominent attorneys. He liked to play soccer.  He is nothing if he isn't a self-made man. Twenty -one years ago, he came to San Francisco with $50 in his pocket. 

"I didn't even know how to say water," he explains. 

 He started washing dishes at Viva Pizza in San Francisco. 

 "I learned the business there," says Maia.

The 200-seat Rafter's is the prefect spot for Maia because he is already brewing an array of beers for his other restaurants but produces them at an offsite location. Now, his brewmaster, Rev Jackson, will brew with the equipment already in Rafter's.

"At my other places, I sell more of my beers than any other brand." 

As for his pizza, he is not concerned about all the authentic Neapolitan pizzerias popping up in San Francisco and Marin. Everything from the crust to the 29 toppings is his recipe.

 "You could say they are 100 percent Californian and Taylor-made," he kids.

 Like Odalisque, opening further west on Fourth in April, Pizza Orgasmica will stay open until 2 a.m. seven days a week, and will serve lunch and dinner.