By Noma Faingold (May 1, 2025)
When chef/owner Anthony Strong decided to open his restaurant/shop combo, the Pasta Supply Co., in April 2023 on Clement Street, he took DIY to an extreme.
From construction and design to recipe and menu development, operations, branding, packaging and marketing, Strong was at the helm. “I had managed enough projects and buildouts to know what it took and know I can probably accomplish something approximate by watching YouTube videos,” Strong said. “Turns out you can do a lot of thinking on what you want your pasta concept to be while you are laying grout.”
He had enough sense not to touch anything electrical.
“No way,” he said.
The unique concept progressed over his many years in the restaurant business. Strong, 42, started working in kitchens when he was 16. He dropped out of high school because he knew he wanted to be a chef. “I was obsessed and never thought twice about it,” he said.
He’s experienced great success working with the Delfina Restaurant Group for more than a decade, where he became executive chef at the original Delfina restaurant in San Francisco and was involved in opening five of the six DRG’s establishments in the Bay Area.
However, his first restaurant as owner, Prairie, in the Mission District, became collateral damage because of the Covid-19 pandemic, just as it was finding its audience. Prairie was DOA in about a year.
It was heartbreaking, but it may have led Strong to a revelation to create a smaller operation with a narrow focus: pasta. And he knows pasta.
At the height of the pandemic, the entrepreneurial Strong tried a few endeavors to make ends meet, including being of service to the community by running a “general store” out of the Prairie space and hosting dinners for four (two seatings each night) in a vintage camper van he called Super Stella. “I knew there was something there,” he said. “If the traditional restaurant model didn’t really work anymore, I might as well try something new.”
Strong’s vision would have a casual vibe with simple décor, where customers could affordably dine in or shop at deli-style display cases for a wide variety of perfectly portioned (two servings), high quality fresh pasta (30 shapes, such as Bucatini and Rigatoni; some stuffed like saffron-ricotta Cuscini), an array of sauce pairings (fava bean pesto and pork sugo, for example) and other accoutrements, like Saffron + Lemon Pistachios, Spicy Citrus Olives, cheeses and cured meats.
“I really wanted people to walk in and see a playground of ingredients they can work with at home,” Strong said. “Dining in and the retail balance out each other nicely. On nights that we might be slower in the dining room, we still have people coming in and grabbing something to cook at home.”
A year after the Pasta Supply Co. came into being at the 40-seat restaurant in the Inner Richmond, Strong opened a second and much bigger restaurant/shop in the Mission District. He now has 60 employees. Still, he works seven days a week, although he took a weekend off last year to get married.
“It was a bumpy ride the last few years. I would go months without any real income. After that, I don’t sweat working a seventh day,” he said. “I love being able to do what I do and be around the people that I love. Doing something that I feel makes a positive contribution to the city and the neighborhoods.”
A second PSC space proved necessary because the tiny kitchen at Clement had its limitations, namely not being able to cook meat. “There’s no gas and no hood,” Strong said. “Before we found the Mission space, we were buying roasted chickens from Roli Roti and lamb legs from Souvla. They’re all great things but a little expensive.”
The Minneapolis-born Strong, who lives in Cole Valley, picked the Clement Street space because he was enamored with some nearby businesses. He knew the Sunday farmer’s market would bring foot traffic, but he is also a fan of the child-centric Tantrum gift shop and restaurants Lily (Vietnamese) and Wako (Japanese). “It felt right,” he said.
Neither PSC restaurant takes reservations. Dine-in guests survey that day’s menu and order with the host before being seated. According to Strong, it actually cuts down on wait time. “We don’t do fancy,” he said. “Pasta isn’t supposed to be bougie.”
At the Mission restaurant, PSC offers pasta-making classes at least once a week for small groups. The hands-on, four-hour class for $210, teaches the basics of creating dough and making different pasta shapes, including stuffed ones.
One Saturday morning class was led by Mission restaurant chef Marc Baltes. Toward the end of class, Baltes had the class of 10 people follow him into the tight kitchen space. He demonstrated how to cook the pasta the students had made. On the stovetop, he worked several pans at once, mixing in different sauces with particular pasta shapes. Then the students feasted. Each participant was even given a goodie bag on their way out.
Don’t be surprised if Strong leads a class now and then. He sees the role as teacher as just part of running a small business. “It’s different every day, every hour,” he said. “We have a really good team but I still end up with my hands all over the place.”
Servers at the two Pasta Supply Co. restaurants aren’t the only ones who recommend the perfect pasta/sauce pairings to diners. The staff behind the retail counter are just as qualified to make suggestions to customers, who are seeking to effortlessly prepare elevated, satisfying meals at home.
Chef/owner Anthony Strong exclusively offered EatDrinkFilms.com readers some of his favorite pasta/sauce pairings for spring and summer.
Fava Bean Pesto with Campenelle
“We do a fava bean pesto this time of year for a few months with fresh fava beans and a little bit of green garlic, pine nuts and lots of olive oil,” Strong said. “It’s really bright and grassy. It’s literally like you are outside and you smell a lawn being cut. It’s so strong. It’s feels like spring. We serve it with a campenelle, which are shaped like wavy bell flowers made with some of the fava leaves. They are green because it’s fun. The frilly campanelle shape holds the sauce really nicely.”
Salt Cod Plumpers with Puttanesca (aka Lady of the Night Sauce)
“Salt cod plumpers (which look like tiny oval pillows) are a filled pasta with whipped salt cod and potato. I like to dress them with puttanesca because it’s tangy and flavorful and it has salty, crunchy things like olives and capers,” he said.
Slow-Roasted Pork Sugo with Reginette
The hearty, tomato-based sugo is often referred to as “Sunday Gravy,” due to its tradition of allowing it to simmer for hours, in preparation for a Sunday family supper. “We make our slow-roasted pork sugo work with a little bit of bacon, so it’s got some extra depth,” Strong said. “It’s great with reginette (also known as mafaldine), which are like little, broken-up, wavy lasagna noodles. With the pork sugo, I like to finish up with some turnip greens and parmigiano.”
Pasta Supply Co. is open seven days a week. No reservations. www.pastasupplyco.com
Inner Richmond: Retail 10 a.m.-9 p.m., Lunch 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Dinner, 4:30 p.m.-9 p.m., 236 Clement St., (415) 236-2668.
Mission District: Retail 10 a.m.-9 p.m., Lunch 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Dinner, 5 p.m.-9 p.m., 3233 22nd St., (415) 347-3792.
Noma Faingold is a writer and photographer who lives in Noe Valley. A native San Franciscan who grew up in the Sunset District, Faingold is a frequent contributor to the Richmond Review and Sunset Beacon newspapers, among others. She is obsessed with pop culture and the arts, especially film, theater and fashion. Noma has written about Tamara de Łempicka and singer/songwriters Janis Joplin, Diane Warren and Linda Smith for EatDrinkFilms.
All photos in this article are by Noma Faingold©
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