Kansas City has some Hot Neapolitan Pizza Competition

Seems that the entire country is involved in the current gourmet fast casual pizza war taking place at a location near you. Fantastic how concepts such those mentioned in this Kansas  City Star article: http://www.kansascity.com/living/food-drink/article40322862.html are using revolving brick ovens for fast and consistent pizza.

Spin Neapolitan Pizza featuring a NY Brick Oven Co. revolving Brick Oven

The taste and flavor these hot spots are providing seem to be what the pizza eating public are demanding and this has gotten the interest of some of the big boys in the pizza world who are feverishly retooling and rethinking their concepts to provide a truly "better" pizza than the typical fast-food fare. Thus the rise in fast casual pizza concepts across the land bringing fresh ingredients made in front of the customer and baked in only a couple minutes.

Neapolitan Pizza From NY Brick Oven Co. 

Who would want a premade cardboard pizza when they have the choice to get a wood fired brick oven pie fresh from the oven? The Pizza War is the only war where we all win.

Chipotle and other Giants Join the Fast Casual Pizza Game

Once Fast Casual Giant Chipotle bought into the Pizza Local Fast Casual Pizza concept many foodies took notice, then came Wetzel Pretsel's with Blaze and Sparro's with it's new concept called Cuchinova and the floodgates for many franchise holding groups were open. They began looking for new concepts and started creating new concepts such as Revolve with namesake revolving brick ovens from New York Brick Oven Company pumping out brick oven pizza faster than can be assembled. What is the attraction? Why is Fast Casual Pizza Exploding across the US? What defines the category and who are the real players behind it. Well the pizza segment has always had it's share of the market with giants such as Pizza Hut and Domino's still dominating but what the attraction is, especially for millennials, is that it's fast, hot and fresh in a trendy atmosphere at reasonable cost. Factor in the entertainment value of watching your pizza prepared and cooked in under 5 minutes and you get the picture. Another very important part of the equation is lunch. What does that mean you may wonder since pizza was always available for lunch in most sit down restaurants with table service or slice shops dominated by players such as Sparro Pizza in a mall near you. Speed is the answer, most busy towns and commercial areas with a working clientele could not wait for a conventional pizza place to take an order, bake a pie and then serve it in the limited lunch break customer's had. Once you factor in getting to a location you see how pizza, especially gourmet pizza did not fit the equation. Then came the brick oven revolution with pies under 3 minutes and then the revolving brick oven revolution which made it possible to be even faster but more importantly to able to make a consistently perfect pizza without a highly skilled work force. This high speed production combined with a low food cost was the ticket to a successful model along the lines of a Chipotle or Panera bread. Now take this model and add  a reduced labor cost cost with a reduced  labor force since table service is not needed and less pizza men with revolving brick ovens and your set to crack the fast casual pizza code. Another big factor behind the scene has been the Pizza School of New York training and helping set up franchises, conversions, new concepts, brew pubs, pizza trucks and traditional mom and pop pizza places all over the United States and the world with tremendous results. Whatever your part in this brave new world of Fast Casual Pizza is, you are in for a big treat. From new contenders with dreams of bringing their concepts to the foreground to the small town mainstay looking to mix it up a bit there is plenty of room for everyone and the biggest winner will be the consumers with the ever widening choices being offered and a super healthy dose of competition to keep everyone on their toes and the pizza fresh. 

Courtesy of NY Brick Oven Co.

Beer and Pizza, the new Brew Pub and Brick Oven Trend

An example of the new trend is the Radius Brew Pub currently under construction in Emporia Kansas of all places. From the look of the place it is going to be hip and neighborhood friendly with its exposed brick, high ceilings, distressed steel, elevated stainless steel vats and a wood burning revolving deck brick oven to boot.

Rumor has it that the boys are heading to New York City to attend pizza school with the World Famous Goodfella's Brick Oven Pizza Crew to make sure the pizza can stand up to their magnificent Stout.

Check them out on facebook as they update the progress and be sure to stop by and try a beer with Gus and the fellas if your in Emporia!