The pizza man made famous by appearing on the Oscars has gone international.Edgar Martiroysan, who co-owns Big Mama's & Papa's Pizzeria in Hollywood with his brother Erik, has had fans flocks to his restaurant and seen his business triple with queues forming out the door.The demand to try his pizzas dished out to Hollywood royalty — including Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt — was so high that orders from as far as Europe were made.
The pizza chain, which has 20 restaurants, had to manically stock up on cheese, pepperoni, sausage and boxes and ship them out to their different stores, according to Los Angeles Times. And now Edgar, who is riding the wave of fame since his impromptu Sunday night appearance, has relived the surreal experience on his newly opened Twitter page, @OscarpizzaEdgar. "Super busy," wrote Edgar, alongside a snapshot of the restaurant kitchen piled high with delivery boxes.
The pizza-man-turned-celebrity, who received a $1,000 tip from Oscar host Ellen DeGeneres when he appeared on her chat show, has been interviewed by news channels and radio stations worldwide, with coverage reaching as far as Australia and India.Edgar tweeted that it was down to "years of hard work and dedication" that gave him his big break. Chatting to Piers Morgan on CNN, the restaurant owner also spoke about achieving "the American dream"."I was shocked," Edgar told Piers, about walking on the Oscars stage and being viewed onscreen by 43million people.
"They told me, 'Wait, the pizzas are for writers,' and then Ellen came out and told me, 'I'm going to tell you to follow me.'"I [was] thinking that when you say the American dream, this is the real American dream. I was just shocked. It was really a great moment for me." Edgar started with the pizza chain as a deliveryman and then moved up to becoming a franchise owner. Six years ago, he purchased the Sunset Boulevard location for his restaurant.