PIE 2 PIE - A Pizza Maker’s Podcast

In this episode, Nick Sanford, owner of Toss & Fire Pizza in Syracuse, NY, shares his inspiring journey from working in corporate America to building a thriving, multi-unit pizza empire. Nick discusses the risks he took, the challenges he faced, and the critical decisions that led to Toss & Fire's rapid expansion.

He emphasizes the importance of maintaining consistency and quality across multiple locations and shares stra...

In this episode, meet Ben Stix, founder of The BeHive, a Nashville-based company making some of the best plant-based meats and cheese available on the market today. Ben shares his entrepreneurial journey building The BeHive from the ground up.

We discuss the challenges of scaling a wholesale food manufacturing business, and what it actually takes to get your product into grocery stores and onto peoples' plates. We dive into the a...

In this episode, Alex heads to Hesperia, in the High Desert of California to visit the meet the minds behind Slice Godz. Brothers Kyle and Jacob share their inspiring journey of turning a passion project into a thriving pizza haven in their community.

Mixing dough by hand, getting savagely creative with their oven setup, these guys epitomize the "where there's a will, there's a way" mantra.

Learn how they carved out their uniqu...

In this episode, Alex Koons sits down for the second time with Chris Wallace, owner of Ozzy's Pizza, to discuss Chris's incredible journey over the past year.

From essentially popping-up in an underground sports bar to opening on a patio in Glendale and receiving a stellar review form from Dave Portnoy, Chris's trajectory has been nothing short of meteoric. They delve into the challenges of scaling up rapidly, tripling his staff an...

In this episode, Alex sits down with Hunter of Detroit Pizza Depot in Los Angeles to discuss his journey from Michigan to Los Angeles and the art of crafting "authentic" Detroit-style pizza. Hunter shares his humble beginnings, from running a food truck in his hometown to opening a cloud kitchen near USC, and reveals his exciting plans for a new brick-and-mortar location in the heart of Hollywood. Dive deep into the world of Detroi...

In this episode of Pie 2 Pie, we sit down with Michael Fiorelli and Liz Gutierrez of Fiorelli Pizza, a wood-fired pizza venture based in a community garden in Venice, Los Angeles. Mike and Liz share their unique journey from working in fine dining to nearly opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant of their own to deciding to pursue a mobile pizza concept in an intimate, outdoor setting. They discuss the challenges and rewards of leavi...

In this episode, meet Jean and Grace, the husband and wife duo behind Montreal's Brigade Pizza. The first Neapolitan pizza lineup concept in Canada, Brigade has been serving up beautiful Neapolitan pies and sparking conversations since 2014. They discuss the merits and pitfalls of VPN certification, the evolution of their dough recipe, and the struggle to balance creativity with customer expectations.

The couple shares their entrep...

Alex sits down with the one and only Angelo Womack of Rad Times Pizza for a no-bullshit, hilarious pizza chat that’s equal parts sage advice and ruthless roasts. Shots are fired, tea is spilled, and no one is safe, but primarily this episode is about the importance of keeping pizza FUN. Angelo is someone who keeps it 100 all the time, dropping truth bombs and hot takes that'll either have you laughing or crying, or both.

We cover t...

In this episode, Alex sits down with Luca of The LA Food Podcast and The LA Countdown to talk about a new era of food critics and their influence over the restaurant scene and the individuals who own and operate restaurants. Luca shares his origin story, starting back in 2021 when he embarked on an epic quest to devour 100 slices of pizza across Los Angeles – a journey that ignited his passion to share his culinary experiences with...

In this episode, meet Zack and Kara, the rad duo behind LA's Boy Blue. Blasting onto the scene last summer these two started popping up making incredible pizzas, but quickly began to expand their menu outside the realm of za, wondering, ‘what else can we cook in a Gozney Dome?’

Zack has worked at such reputable institutions as Roberta's, Prime Pizza, and Pizzeria Sei while Kara tapped into her culinary roots and past pop-up experie...

In this episode of Pie 2 Pie, host Alex Koons sits down with the Holt Family of Sunday Pizza Company - a family of 4 that makes Detroit-style square pizza together. John and Laura, Johra, and Kaiden started making pizza at home on Sundays as a family activity which eventually turned into a booming mobile pizza pop-up. We get insight into their journey switching from brewing beer at home to bread baking and pizza making, their uni...

In this episode, we’re getting all dressed up to sit down with Caitlin and Daniel, owners of the highly acclaimed, Ronan Los Angeles. Tucked away on bustling Melrose Avenue, Ronan has earned a reputation for creating an elevated dining experience that puts pizza at the forefront. A relationship forged in the fires of professional kitchens, we discuss the origins (and hidden meanings) of their logo, serving literally thousands of ...

In this episode, Jose and Bronwen of Naughty Pie Nature join PIE 2 PIE to discuss their incredible journey going from starting their pizza pop-up to opening a brick-and-mortar shop in LESS THAN A YEAR. After years of working in big corporate restaurants and missing the creative control and hands-on experience of pizza, they quickly snowballed into the LA pizza scene.

We talk about taking the leap to quit their jobs and go all-in on...

Join us as we chat with Ryan Mondragon, owner of Sanctuary Pizza the mobile catering legend out of Turlock, California. Ryan takes us through his journey from learning wood-fired pizza basics while working at a local restaurant to launching his own catering operation and acquiring a pizza trailer during the pandemic.

He shares how he built up his business through backyar...

Meet the genius behind Fire and Wood Catering, Thomas DeSantis! Thomas gives us an inside look at what it takes to operate a mobile wood-fired pizza and event catering operation at the highest level.

Get an inside look at Thomas' journey from starting in New York to launching his own business in Los Angeles. We discuss how to grow a mobile operation from the ground up, the day-to-day operations and logistics of running a mobile piz...

In this episode, we talk with Chris Laramie, owner of Fat Lip Pizza about his journey from starting a pizza pop-up out of a retired mail truck during the pandemic to opening his brick-and-mortar restaurant in Corona, CA.

Chris shares about his culinary career and departure from fine dining to finding a unicorn second-gen brick-and-mortar pizza shop while developing his brand and community outreach. Chris lays out his Keep it Simp...

In this special year-end wrap-up episode, Alex takes us through some of the highlights and unforgettable moments from the 33 episodes of Pie2Pie in 2023. As we look back, we want to give a massive thanks to everyone who has been a guest on our humble podcast and to all the listeners out there for your support. It’s always been about the community. We are all here to learn and grow together and we can’t wait to bring so many more in...