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Hours of operation:
Monday 11am - 3pm
Tuesday thru Thursday 11am to 10pm
Friday 11am - 11pm
Saturday 5pm - 11pm
Sunday Closed
Validated Downtown Parking
at the
Church Street Parking
Garage located on the corner of
Hughey and Church Street
off Bob Snow Lane. Please bring
your parking ticket stub
in for validation.
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Mark Alan Dollard
Chef/Partner
Brick & Fire Pizza and Wine Co.
My first restaurant job was washing dishes at a Jewish Deli called "Traditions" in Scottsdale Arizona. A literal melting pot of people from all over the world worked in this place: the Middle East, Mexico, Africa, Italy, Spain, and France. There were Jews, Syrians, Egyptians, and a few other Muslim folks working in the same sweltering hot kitchen, owned by a Jewish family from New York. I had never had exposure to this kind of diversity before so you could say I had a bit of a culture shock on my first day. Nonetheless, it set precedence for my career in the industry.
Being surrounded by those diverse restaurant people since the age of 15 has had a heavy influence on my cooking. Every culture on earth has a unique way of cooking that coincides with different ingredients and spices. A diverse restaurant crew sets the tone for a special magic that few outside the business can truly appreciate. I live my life for this magic and like a highly addictive drug, would struggle in life without it.
On to what makes me tick. My favorite food is Heirloom tomatoes. I love them for their flavor and appearance. My favorite spices change from time to time. I swing from spicy hot seasonings to more robust flavors of fennel and cumin. My favorite sweet stuffs are custards and ice cream. Crème brûleé, pot de crème, cheesecake, killer pints of ice cream that indicate four servings and so on. I revel in the richness of cream and eggs like a kid in a candy store. In fact, all of our desserts at Brick & Fire are topped with ice cream! My biggest vice, aside from the occasional beer, wine or cocktail, is cheese. Cheese, cheese, cheese - the salty dry stuff, the stinky blue stuff, the soft goat stuff, I can't pass it up.
My passion in life is standing at a cutting board and stove, under immense pressure, and making it happen every day. A dining room full of guests, servers going nuts, and fellow cooks displaying bad behavior is exactly the kind of environment I thrive in. Controlled chaos indeed as I consider that every stimulating. I hardly know what to do with myself given a day off.
My culinary background is a little strange but a progressive career path regardless. My most recent restaurant project was called Absinthe Bistro and Bar located in the historical Church Street Station in downtown Orlando. The landlord, The Infamous Lou Pearlman, had issues that forced us to close the doors. The new owners of the property did not invite Absinthe back as a tenant. With a new concept in hand, we managed to secure a lease for Brick & Fire Pizza and Wine Co. in the exact same space.
Prior to becoming a restaurant owner I worked in numerous resorts such as Walt Disney World in Orlando, Vail Resorts in Keystone Colorado, The Arizona Biltmore, The Marriott in Paradise Valley Arizona, The Scottsdale Princess, and a few high end clubs. I've done time on the hot line where I "made my bones" as a cook in a few other restaurants. Nearly twenty years have gone by since I washed my first dish at the Deli. With all of the experience, knowledge, and skills gained in those years, I finally feel it's appropriate calling myself a chef.
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