The home of local, legendary Italian cheese breadsticks
—For nearly two decades, Rustic Fire has been a familiar landmark just off the freeway in Paso Robles. It’s a place where locals mingle with travelers, where families return year after year, and where the pizza arrives crisp and straight from a roaring brick oven.
Siblings Jonathan Gannon and Connie Kahanu have created a restaurant where everyone in the family can find something they like. Rustic Fire’s menu is expansive but intentional. Nearly 20 specialty pizzas, multiple crust styles, vegan and gluten-free options, sandwiches, house-made soups, fresh salads, desserts, and gelato. Owner Jonathan Gannon says. “We prep everything fresh, every day.”
At the heart of the restaurant is its high-heat brick oven, producing pizzas with a thin, crisp center and a golden rolled edge. Guests can choose from multiple crust styles: traditional, ultra-thin, or thick, along with cauliflower and gluten-free options. The menu is designed for customization, but also anchored by longtime favorites like pepperoni, margherita, Hawaiian, and the fully loaded Rustic Fire Works pizza.
One item, however, has achieved near-legend status—the Italian cheese breadsticks served with the house pizza sauce and ranch dressing for dipping. “People come back once a year during the fair, and that’s the first thing they ask for,” Gannon says. Made with fresh dough, olive oil, garlic, and high-quality cheese, they’ve become a must-order for first-time visitors and regulars alike.
They want everyone to be able to enjoy the pizza, and they truly mean it. Rustic Fire offers two gluten-free preparation methods for general gluten sensitivity, and a fully separate protocol for guests with celiac disease. “For celiac, it’s a completely separate process,” Gannon explains. “New gloves, separate screens, separate prep, separate storage. It takes longer, but that’s the point.”
They even use rice flour instead of wheat flour in the kitchen to reduce airborne contamination. It’s an uncommon step that doesn’t go unnoticed by guests. “We hear it all the time,” Kahanu adds. “People say, ‘I can eat here and not get sick.’ That’s huge.”
Owners Connie Kanunu and Jonathan Gannon.
Where happy staff means happy guests
The atmosphere is warm and inviting with brick walls, televisions in each booth, and also placed throughout the restaurant, so nobody misses the game. Perhaps the warmest and most inviting feature is the staff. A core group of staff have been at Rustic Fire almost since the beginning, along with several others who have been there for more than a decade. “Our turnover is really low, and we’re proud of that,” Gannon says. “Happy staff means happy guests.”
Owners Gannon and Kahanu grew up in Paso Robles, and they champion local partnerships. Their wine list is extensive and offers wines exclusively from the Paso Robles area. The gelato is from their friends at Leo Leo Gelato in Paso Robles. Leo Leo Gelato sources its dairy from Cal Poly. Their new coffee bar features local organic coffee from Joebella Coffee Roasters, which is out of Atascadero. Guests frequently ask for recommendations, and the team is happy to play informal concierge, guiding visitors to wineries, events, and hidden gems around town.
After nearly 20 years, Rustic Fire remains rooted in its original values of consistency, quality, and connection. “People choose to spend their hard-earned money with us,” Gannon says. “We owe it to them to give them the best experience we can, every single time.”
Judging by the generations of families who keep coming back, Rustic Fire has done exactly that. To visit, it’s an easy stop off Highway 101. They offer dine-in, takeout, and delivery, and they’re a perfect end to a day of local wine tasting.
Rustic Fire is located at 1145 24th St., Suite D, Paso Robles. Open daily at 10:30 a.m. Closed Tuesday. For more information or to place an order, visit www.rusticfire.com, or call (805) 238-7711
—Karen Lycan
