NC-13 Small Business Spotlight: Luna Pizza Café

August 25, 2025

Did you know you can find a slice of Italy in Clayton, North Carolina? Luna Pizza Café has become a local staple over the past few years with its unique menu, artisanal dough, and expert pizza-making.

“Our menu is more similar to what you’d see in Campania,” owner Richard Williams said. “Italian classics, a few of my personal favorites, and of course a build-your-own option for customers looking to get creative.”

It’s no secret where Luna gets its authenticity. Chasing a lifelong dream, Richard left his role as a professor at East Carolina University and took off to Italy to learn the delicate but worthwhile practice of making brick oven pizza. Thankfully for us all, he returned to North Carolina ready to share his new skills.

“Restaurants are really a condensed version of reality,” Richard said. “Dining out is a chance to engage with your community; to be part of it. I want coming here to be the best one to two hours of your day.”

From that desire to serve comes Luna’s motto, “Give more than you get and be blessed.” According to Richard’s business partner and fellow chef John Jefferson, the saying goes beyond an inscription on each pizza box. It impacts every facet of the restaurant’s operations.

“We don’t have the turnover rate on our staff that’s more common in the rest of the restaurant industry,” John said. “I believe some of that comes from being a local place. Top to bottom, we’re all local and especially our regulars appreciate that.”

Certainly, they also appreciate the effort and care that goes into each pizza, even if they don’t see the whole process.

Making a Luna pizza starts with a special dough made from scratch and fermented for five days before it’s ready for baking. Once you show up and order though, each pizza only takes two minutes, a quick trip around the rotating brick oven before it’s ready to eat.

“It’s all about the details. We take a lot of pride in the process because it is unique and critical to delivering a great-tasting meal for our customers,” Richard said. “But what no one tells you before opening a restaurant is that making the food is only a fraction of the whole job.”

When Richard and John aren’t in the kitchen, you can find them out front visiting with guests or serving in the myriad roles small business owners assume such as facility maintenance, marketing, human resources, and social media management.

As all entrepreneurs will attest, starting a business isn’t easy. Beyond the service and maintenance are mountains of regulations, hoops to jump through, and fees to pay that can hamper any venture before it gets off the ground.

“It’s really crushing especially when you’re just getting started. State and local officials make these policies, and it feels like a hidden tax on small businesses,” Richard said.

When asked about the impact of the One Big Beautiful Bill as it relates to small businesses, both Richard and John immediately thought of their employees.

“The ‘No Tax on Tips’ is really great for the wait staff,” John said. “Usually at the end of the year they face a huge tax bill and often, especially for younger employees and those living on a tight budget, that huge bill can be catastrophic. They are very happy to keep more of what they earned.”

North Carolina’s 13th District has experienced plenty of growth recently with small businesses continuing to pop up. Richard would tell other local shops and soon-to-be entrepreneurs to understand the intense personal commitment and embrace it.

“It’s a lot of work and you need good partners, like we had with Taft Family Ventures who helped us get started in this location where the community is growing. Ultimately though, it’s all worth it to get to contribute something to the area be part of what makes it special,” Richard said.

The NC-13 Small Business Spotlight is designed to highlight wonderful small businesses throughout our district and share their stories. If you know of a great place to feature, please reach out to Congressman Knott’s communications team at quinn.slaven@mail.house.gov.