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Letter to the editor

Semper Pi serves a lot more than pizzas

A retired Marine sergeant major's pizza place has taken off thanks to a camaraderie not unlike the bond found in military service.

By JAN WESNER Times Staff Writer
Published September 14, 2007

The walls of John Carranza's pizza joint look like a movie set.

There are hats and pictures and trophies. A World I bayonet. A flag signed by POWs from the Korean War. Pictures of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

And then there is Carranza himself, straight out of central casting.

"I say we don't have a manager here," he says. "The sergeant major's here."

The sign on the door, courtesy of his wife and business partner, Carmen, lets people know if he's in or not. It also warns all those who enter not to call him Sarge or Gunny or anything else.

Carranza, 55, is a retired Marine Corps sergeant major, the highest enlisted rank. His shirt and his hat will tell you that if he doesn't do it first.

He was drafted at the tail end of the Vietnam War and swore he wouldn't report for duty. He ended up spending 24 years in the corps.

He retired to Brandon because it was warm, and he and Carmen opened their pizza business on Super Bowl Sunday 2003.

At first, they dubbed it J.C.'s. They had picked a man in a sombrero as their mascot, and gave the pizzas names like The Whole Enchilada.

Five months later, the business hadn't taken off. They were thinking about a different name and logo. A customer sat at a corner table doodling.

He handed Carranza a sketch.

It was the Marine Corps' globe and anchor symbol, only the globe had been changed into a pizza.

Other customers suggested names like Leatherneck's Pizza or The Devil Dog.

But it was Carmen who had the inspiration: They should call their business Semper Pi. A play on the Marine Corps motto: Semper Fi, short for Semper Fidelis, "always faithful" in Latin.

They already had a few pieces of Marine Corps memorabilia. Carranza's daughter had urged him to bring in the plaques and awards he'd collected during his Marine Corps career.

And then total strangers starting bringing their stuff in, too.

At a loss about how to decorate one empty wall, Carranza decided to make a drawing of the flag raising at Iwo Jima, and post the names of local troops killed in the war on terror.

There are more than two dozen names there now, and pictures and stories and letters about each are in a scrapbook put together by Carmen.

The information comes from parents and family members who come in to Semper Pi to share their stories.

Now, the walls are covered. The Carranzas have started decorating the ceiling.

"People have brought in some amazing things," Carmen said.

And their business is a success in more ways than one.

Semper Pi is a gathering place for those with military ties.

Active and retired personnel meet there on weekends, parents stop in to ask Carmen for advice on helping their sons readjust to life after war, and young troops invite them to their weddings.

"Because John was a sergeant major, he's a people person," Carmen said. "That's what he did, he dealt with the troops. So people will come to him and say, 'This is the situation. How do we handle it?' "

When a local funeral home needed a flag for their hearse, someone told them to ask the sergeant major. He let them borrow his own personal Marine Corps flag.

Carmen worked for the government for 20 years. She spent much of that time handling discharges and benefits for former military personnel.

Neither had any real business experience. Carranza worked as a pizza delivery driver for a year. He observed the business, the pizzamaking, and got to know the distributors.

He saw the potential to make some money.

He asked Carmen what she thought, they borrowed the start-up funds from her parents and a month later they were in business in the former J-Bird's Pizzaria at 156 Parsons Ave. in Brandon.

The first thing Carranza did was reorganize the kitchen so that it was more efficient.

In the Marines, nobody ever had to tell him to get a haircut or shine his boots. They still don't.

Twelve years after he retired, Carranza still fits into his dress blues. He dresses in uniform when he's part of an honor guard at military funerals.

He's involved in more than a half-dozen military and community organizations and participates in dozens of events a year.

And just like when he was in the Marine Corps, Carranza's business is all spit and polish.

He doesn't count how many pepperonis go on a pizza, relying on what looks right. A sign on the wall in the kitchen reads, "If you don't know, ask."

And Carranza often tells his employees to remember this mantra:

"If I can do it, you can do it."

Jan Wesner can be reached at jwesner@sptimes.com or 661-2439. Read her blog about military life at blogs.tampabay.com/standingby.

[Last modified September 13, 2007, 08:21:07]