In one of the more subversive episodes of Seinfeld, commentary on a landmark Supreme Court decision is buried within a subplot involving crazy neighbor Kramer’s scheme to start a “pizza business where you make your own pie.”
From sit-com plotline to a successful real-world business plan, life—or in this case, food—imitates art, as the build-your-own pizza concept comes to Downtown Tucson in the form of Arizona-based restaurant chain Fired Pie.
Construction starts in July for Fired Pie’s 5th AZ location on the ground floor of Cadence Student Living at 312 E. Congress St., joining neighbors Gio Taco and World of Beer. Fired Pie expects to open in early September while similar University-area restaurants, Pionic Pizza and Pizza Studio, are also expecting openings in the coming weeks.
Fired Pie’s concept is simple: offer a customizable pizza made from scratch, using dozens of fresh toppings of the guest’s choice at a reasonable price point ($6-$7.75 for an 11” pie) in less than four minutes. In addition to its fire-baked, gluten-free pizza, Fired Pie also offers customized salads ($6-$7.75), with over thirty fresh ingredients to choose from, as well as a fired oversized “Pookie” cookie, served with ice-cream ($3).
Breakfast will be a new Fired Pie menu option offered exclusively at its new Tucson location for the early morning rush of students and downtown workers on the go.
I spoke with cofounder Fred Morgan via email about this and more of what the Downtown Tucson community can expect in September. Morgan is no stranger to the pizza game, devoting the last twenty years in the industry with such outfits as California Pizza Kitchen—where he served as Regional Vice President—and, most recently, Oregano’s, where Morgan held Chief Operating Officer and VP positions, and assisting in the opening of its current Tucson location on Speedway.
What sparked your interest in opening a Downtown Tucson location, and how did the choice of the Congress St. in Cadence Living come about?
We are very excited about the new development and the revitalization of Downtown Tucson. The developer Jim Campbell actually came to us with the project and felt we would be a perfect fit to round out the restaurant and bars in his development. He had eaten at one of our locations in Phoenix and loved it. Given that we will have over 500 college students living above us, and knowing they love pizza, we thought it was a great partnership. We are planning on adding a coffee element to this location. We will have a full line of coffee and espresso drinks, bagels, pastries and even breakfast pizzas.
Do you have plans to open any more Tucson locations?
Yes, as a matter of fact we have a trip planned in two weeks to look at two more new sites. We feel Tucson will be a great market for us, and we could see having as many as eight to ten restaurants there.
Can we expect some friendly competition between the Tucson and Phoenix-area locations next year when the Wildcats face up against the Sun Devils?
Yes, we sure are. We are already thinking of some competition between the Tucson store and our locations in the Phoenix area. We’ll maybe have to create a UA pizza. I think that could be a good contest. What would we have on it? What would an ASU pizza have on it?
What would you like to say to the pizza-lovers of Tucson and your future downtown neighbors?
We are excited about bringing this new concept to Tucson. We have been getting rave reviews and know our new neighbors will love it. Our locations in Phoenix are not just lunch spots that people love because they can get a custom, fresh, personal 11’’ pizza to order in less than four minutes. We’ve become their favorite neighborhood pizza joint.
Get updates on Fired Pie’s progress at their Website or Facebook page. And here’s that Seinfeld episode…
