IN THE NEWS
Next Door Pizza & Pub (www.nextdoorpizza.com) opens its first Chicago-style pizza joint in a Kansas City suburb.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Lee’s Summit, Missouri - Next Door Pizza located at 3385 SW Fascination Drive in The Shops at New Longview, is an independent pizza restaurant owned and operated by Lee’s Summit residents Patrick and Joy Cuezze. Patrick’s passion for Chicago style pizza and a devotion to the community drove him from his 10-year private law practice to the restaurant business.
“I love pizza and I love people. Besides, how many pizza operator jokes do you know?” jested Patrick.
While the sit down restaurant features Chicago Style Pizza with sauce on the top, Next Door also offers a traditional thin crust along with a gluten free option. Besides Pizza, the menu showcases salads, pasta, and a variety of sandwiches. Free soft pretzel sticks are given to each table to help pass the time while the massive 1.5+ pound pies cook in the stone-hearthed ovens. The recipes are completely original and are the result of Patrick cooking over 700 pizzas in his home during the past year. Patrick makes all of the dough in-house daily.
“It started out as a fun hobby - cooking pizzas for small gatherings. But I soon became engrossed in developing the best Chicago style pizza possible. Before long, I was experimenting with thin crust, New York Style, Neapolitan, and Sicilian (Detroit style) as well. It was crazy. I would regularly cook two or three pizzas at night and have no one at home to eat them so I went door-to-door giving them away to neighbors. The neighbors started getting tired of pizza so, after a while, I began hopping on the 1985-retro skateboard my wife bought me for Father’s day and delivering to neighbors a few blocks away. It was out of control, but that’s the kind of neighborhood we have in New Longview” Patrick says.
Now Patrick has a 2700 square-foot, retail space with a commercial kitchen to work with.
“Growing up, my parents owned a commercial bakery with a retail store-front and deli. My father is a butcher by trade and currently owns a diner in the bottoms. I’m not unfamiliar with a commercial kitchen., but I’ve never owned and operated my own equipment. It’s going to be a fun challenge.”
The restaurant is located just South and West of 3rd Street and View High Drive. It is adjacent to Longview Community College and very close to Longview Lake. The current dining room seats about 70 and will feature a lunch buffet with a hefty student discount. The bar seats 20, has 5 hi-def televisions, and a unique variety of beers on tap from brewers like Boulevard, Founders, Bear Republic, Left Hand, Lagunitas, Southern Tier and Anchor Steam.
Patrick and his Joy distributed dozens of antique doors to neighbors and local businesses. As neighbors decorate and return the doors, they have used them in the architecture and as decorations on the wall.
“We give them a free pizza and a little slice of immortality for their trouble,” explained Patrick.
Next Door offers traditional loyalty programs by e-mail and through social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. They also feature a Beer Club that permits patrons to bring their own mugs to store at the restaurant. Finally, the GreenPizza program allows environmentally conscious patrons to purchase a reusable pizza box that can be exchanged for a clean one with every purchase – a unique offering in the KC metro area. Members of the GreenPizza program also receive a discount for walking to the restaurant.
ABOUT NEXT DOOR PIZZA
Next Door Pizza, located at 3385 SW Fascination Drive in The Shops at New Longview, is an independent pizza restaurant owned and operated by Lee’s Summit residents Patrick and Joy Cuezze.
The restaurant, located just South and West of 3rd Street and View High Drive, is adjacent to Longview Community College and very close to Longview Lake.
The sit- down restaurant features Chicago Style Pizza with sauce on the top, a traditional thin crust along with a gluten- free option. Besides pizza, the menu showcases salads, pasta and a variety of sandwiches. Longview Community College students can expect to find a lunch buffet with a hefty student discount. Free soft pretzel sticks are given to each table to help pass the time while the massive 1.5+ pound pies cook in the stone-hearthed ovens. The recipes themselves are completely original and are the result of Patrick cooking over 700 pizzas in his home during the past year. Daily, Patrick himself makes all of the dough in-house.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Patrick Cuezze
816.763.1200
Patrick@nextdoorpizza.com