If you had asked owner Rob Zorch a few years ago if his pizza-making pastime would transform into a full-fledged business, he may have chuckled. While the Pennsylvania native’s dream was always to own a slice shop, watching his vision turn into reality has been a completely different story.
“It wasn’t necessarily the goal to open a spot, it was just a fun hobby, but then we got so busy I started thinking more big picture,” Zorch says.
Big picture means a New York-style pizza shop. On Wednesday, June 30, Zorch Pizza will host the grand opening of its brick-and-mortar location at 2923 W. Cary St., complete with a dangling pizza slice sign above the doorway indicating that a pizza party awaits.
Zorch says he wanted to find a place with heavy foot traffic and originally acquired the space in Carytown last July, with work inside the space beginning in late October.
Over the past two years, the slate gray food truck accented with the orange Zorch logo has been making regular weekly appearances at The Veil Brewing Co. and Vasen Brewing Company and gaining quite an enthusiastic following in the process.
In November 2019, Zorch connected with Manchester’s Hatch Kitchen, the commissary space and food business incubator home to a designated parking area for food trucks. On Fridays and Saturdays he began offering pies via preorder for weekend pickup at breweries. Months later, when the pandemic struck and breweries shut down on-site consumption and tasting rooms, Zorch’s schedule came to a halt.
“I was at Hatch before the pandemic and thought, ‘I wonder if people will drive here to pick up pizzas,’ and then we had to do that,” he says.
What followed was a series of sellouts, an encouraging boost that Zorch needed to take the next steps in his pizza venture.
“[I’m] so happy that so many people came out,” says the University of Richmond grad, adding that over recent months he’s gained an influx of new customers. “It gave me confidence to open a place and to know people were willing to drive to a parking lot to pick it up.”
The space at Hatch also allowed him to home in on quality control, graduating from the tiny oven on the truck to a conventional oven.
The interior of the new restaurant includes a minimal bar area with a couple taps and a seating area with an assortment of tables. Zorch says he will offer a small menu of bar snacks in the future.
For diners who have been grabbing slices from Zorch over the years, the menu includes the staples — cheese, pepperoni and sausage, along with a vegan cheese option — in addition to familiar Zorch favorites such as gooey cheese bread and the Wing Night pizza with Buffalo chicken. “It’s a classic,” Zorch says.
Other menu offerings include The Upside Down, featuring sliced mozzarella topped with vodka sauce and basil; a white pizza with caramelized onions and garlic; cheesy bread; Sal’s famous garlic knots; treats from Fat Rabbit Cakes; and a pan pizza dubbed Almost Like a Pizza Pie that was inspired by a nostalgic favorite.
“The pan pizza I make is really different; it’s a shallow pan, and the crust is like pastry,” Zorch explains. “That’s why I got into pizza; my fave hometown pizzeria makes one just like that in Western Pennsylvania.”
For beer lovers used to seeing the Zorch truck at their favorite local watering holes, don’t worry, the plan is for the business to continue to stay true to its mobile roots and operate Saturdays and Sundays at The Veil Brewing Co. in Scott’s Addition. Last weekend fellow pie concept Pizza Bones, a pop-up from longtime baker Ashley Patino, also debuted at 2314 Jefferson Ave. in Church Hill.
Zorch Pizza will be open Wednesday and Thursday from 4 to 10 p.m. and Friday through Sunday from noon to 10 p.m.
