When Rick and Meredith Schaper started making frozen pizzas out of their home in October 2006, they didn’t know their start-up food venture would turn into a burgeoning business – but it did. And so in May 2007, the Schapers moved Dogtown Pizza into an 1,100-square-foot space at 3830 Washington Ave. Come May, the Schapers will move yet again, this time to a 25,000-square-foot building at 8014 N. Broadway.
“In 2007, our goal was to do 1,500 pizzas a month,” said Rick Schaper. “Now we’re doing 10,000 a month out of the same space. That’s some serious growth; I am bursting at the seams.” Since the beginning of the year, Dogtown Pizza has already added nine new accounts. Those hungry for a slice of handmade pizza can now find Dogtown pies at select Schnucks stores, as well as Straub’s, Dierbergs, Whole Foods, Sappington Farmers’ Market and other locations.
Haven’t tried Dogtown Pizza? Follow the pack and choose the tomato-basil-garlic pie or the sausage. Rick Schaper told The Scoop that those two varieties are tied on the best-seller list. The company uses many local products, including fresh St. Louis-style thin crust made by Vitale’s Bakery and Italian salsiccia, also made on The Hill. For more on this local biz, click here.
This article appears in February 2011.