Can a square pizza fit into the round hole of expectations on the part of Colorado Springs pizza lovers?
Jet’s Pizza, which specializes in Detroit-style square pizza, believes so.
The chain, based in suburban Detroit and with more than 420 locations in 22 states, opened its first Colorado Springs outlet in mid-May at 5960 Stetson Hills Blvd., in the King Soopers-anchored Ridgeview Marketplace, northeast of Powers and Stetson Hills boulevards on the northeast side. A grand opening will take place Saturday.
The location offers pick-up and delivery, though no dine-in service, said Larkspur resident Logan Ostrand. He and Michigan-based Jennifer Hill serve as Jet’s Pizza franchisees for the Springs; they also have two locations in Aurora and one each in Denver and Lakewood. Ostrand runs the restaurants on a day-to-day basis, while Hill oversees accounting, insurance, payroll and other administrative operations.
They were attracted to Colorado Springs, in large part, because of its growth, Ostrand said.
“I love the demographics,” he said. “It’s a family community. It’s growing. So it was really a no-brainer. There definitely was an opportunity. I didn’t see a ton of Detroit-style pizza down here, so it was a no-brainer.”
New York-style pizza is thin, floppy and typically sold in slices; Chicago is known for its deep dish and thin-crust, tavern-style pies; and Neapolitan pizzas are made with tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and basil, according to several food and restaurant websites.
And they’re all round.
Detroit-style pizza, however, comes out of the oven square or rectangular.
Jet’s bakes its pizzas in specially made steel pans that retain and distribute heat evenly, according to the chain’s website. That baking process uses dough that’s made fresh daily with a proprietary blend of milled flour.
The result is dough that rises and expands into a pillow-like form, producing a pizza with a light and airy deep-dish center and crispy crust, instead of a pie with a thick, dense and heavy crust, the website says.
“It’s a pan-style pizza,” Ostrand said. “It’s really crispy on the outside, light and fluffy on the inside. … So, it’s square, pan-style, super crispy, light and fluffy. Got a good amount of yeast to it.”
For customers who might scratch their heads over the idea of a square pizza, Jet’s menu includes traditional hand-tossed round pizzas and even a New York-style pizza, which also are baked with dough made fresh daily, Ostrand said.
But he predicts the square pizza will win over customers.
“Here’s what I say,” Ostrand said. “I’m going to give you the square. If you don’t like it, I’ll buy you a round of your choosing. That’s generally my line. Here’s the (square) pizza. If you don’t like it, I’m buying you whatever else you want. I’ve never had anybody take me up on that.”
Business at the Denver-area locations of Jet’s Pizza has been strong, Ostrand said.
“We’re opening more stores, aren’t we?” he said.
In Colorado Springs, Ostrand said he and Hill envision opening two to three more Jet’s Pizza locations within two to four years.
While there’s rivalry among pizza concepts, as well as battles among local, regional and national brands, Ostrand said there’s room for Jet’s in the Colorado Springs market.
“In pizza, there’s always going to be competition, there’s going to be a pizza joint almost on every corner,” he said. “That’s why we have to deliver the best product, we have to deliver the best customer service.
“We do offer a premium product,” Ostrand added. “We’re not in a price war to get to the bottom of the market like the other big-time, national franchises. … So we do have to operate a bit more efficiently. We do have to put out a better product. And we have to have better customer service. It’s the only way people are going to come back and spend seven more dollars on a pizza that they can get for cheaper elsewhere.”