Get Gil Rowland started talking about pizza and he won't stop.
So it makes sense that this geologist turned pizza-maker would start his own pizza business with a food truck and now a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Grovetown.
"I get to talk pizza for hours," he said during a visit to the Southern Fired Foods restaurant that he and his wife Tracey opened in July. The couple still operate the food truck that they've had for three years.
Southern Fired Pizza makes one thing: pizza. And all the pizzas are Italian Neapolitan style, which is typically known for its soft dough with high edges, mozzarella cheese, Italian tomatoes that grow on volcanic plains, and other toppings.
All of
the pizzas are handmade, have a thin crust, and are wood-fired in a big oven. There's one in the restaurant and one on the food truck.
Fun fact: It takes 2 minutes and 30 seconds to cook a pizza in a wood-fired oven, Rowland said.
Rowland said he spent several years in Europe and loved the food. When he married Tracey, they went to Paris and Italy for their honeymoon. He wanted to introduce her to the European cuisine.
Along the way, the couple stumbled upon a "little hole-in-the-wall" restaurant called Gusta Pizza in Florence, Italy, he said. One bite of the Neapolitan-style pizza and they were hooked.
"When I'm traveling, I never (eat at) the same place twice," he said, because it's important to experience more of the culture. "We went back," to Gusta. "And I said, 'I want to do this when I grow up.'"
And the food truck became a reality. "Then customers wanted to know when we were getting a restaurant. We got asked that all the time."
He found a location at 587 East Robinson Ave., Grovetown, in what had been an animal clinic. The building worked, so they added a wood-burning oven and converted it into a take-out restaurant.
Because of his connections with the military, he is able to bring his truck to Fort Gordon. And the food truck schedule is posted on the website, southernfiredfoods.com.
One of the unique flavors they've added to the menu is hot honey, a delicious combination of sweet and savory with a little kick.
A regular customer asked them to try it on a pizza, and they reluctantly agreed. One bite and Rowland added it to the menu. "I was blown away," Rowland said.
The restaurant has plenty of social media, and even the food truck has "Stalk Us!" written in big letters with the logos to help customers find them on a given day.
Follow Southern Fired Foods on Instagram and Facebook at @southernfiredfoods.
For this visit, a large The Boss/The CEO Neapolitan Pizza was ordered. There are plenty of options on the menu, but all are Neapolitan pizzas. The one ordered included Italian sausage, bacon, pepperoni, and hot honey. The crust was soft and had a rich flavor. The dough is made daily and seasoned like Italians season the crust.
Jennifer Miller covers food and business for The Augusta Chronicle. She can be reached at JMiller@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Pizza maker brings Neapolitan pies from truck to shop | Exclusive
