Fired Pizza isn’t just about dough, fire, and toppings—it’s about obsession, trial and error, community, and doing things the hard way because the hard way tastes better. Built in Stockton, fueled by wood smoke and stubborn conviction, Fired Pizza has grown from pop-ups and catering gigs into a full-blown neighborhood institution.
In this conversation, we dig into the stories behind the oven: the social media experiments, the late nights, the infamous pizzas, the failures, the wins, and the philosophy that keeps the fire lit. This is less an interview about pizza and more a look at what happens when craft, humor, and persistence collide.
1. Fired Pizza has gained quite a following on social media. What inspired you to start sharing your pizza journey online, and how has that experience been for you?
Certainly growing up as a millennial has made social media somewhat second nature to me. As a teenager in punk bands, I’d cultivate our MySpace page to match our music aesthetic. Now with the pizza business, I do much of the same. The media has changed, but being able to adapt and keep up with all the outlets is as important in business as it is with the pizza.
I feel like I have to continue to try, learn, adapt, and innovate with social media as much as I do with our pizza menu. All that said, we still try to have fun with it and not take it so seriously—letting our humor influence what we post.
Social media is about voyeurism: the feeling of getting a behind-the-scenes look into people’s lives and inside jokes. I think our audience connects with us because we do a lot of that. So much of what you see on Instagram and TikTok is just me and my wife laughing at our own experiences.
YouTube is a new venture for Fired Pizza. Right now it’s mostly pizza line work, but I hope in the future it becomes the place where you get the most behind-the-scenes look at what this restaurant really is.
2. Your wood-fired pizzas are a real treat! What makes your technique special compared to other pizzerias?
I want to say something prolific here—some kind of hack or trick that makes us different from the next guy. The truth is, we’re somewhat limited in what we can do with a real traditional Neapolitan dough and wood-fired pizza style.
Where we are in the Central Valley of California—Stockton specifically—there was no one doing traditional wood-fired pizza. We had to introduce that style to a customer base used to California-style, meat-heavy, thick dough pizzas.
We went to Italy for a few weeks years back, and I was heavily influenced by the simple one- or two-topping pizzas in Naples. I try to bring that back here and say, “Just let this two-topping combination shine.”
Anyone can make a good cheap pizza. That’s the beauty of pizza. But the real treat is using high-quality ingredients and doing pizza the hard way—and to me, that only comes across right with Neapolitan wood-fired pizza.
No shade to California or NY-style pizza. I grew up on that. It’s amazing and always will be.
3. Is there a specific signature pizza that represents Fired Pizza the best? What’s the story behind it?
This is funny considering everything I just said. Our food truck took off when we took a rip on a NY Hell Boy / Hot Boy pizza (pepperoni and hot honey) and made it a true California classic by adding freshly sliced jalapeños and swapping hot honey for ranch.
It’s not a Neapolitan topping by any stretch—but it’s our original combo and it’s become infamous. So much so that we call it The Infamous Hot Boi.
Ranch dressing and jalapeños is about as California as it gets here in Stockton. On a wood-fired Neapolitan pizza, there is nothing better.
4. Can you share a memorable story from your time making pizzas that still makes you smile?
There was a year when we were working the food truck during the day and rehabbing the restaurant space at night. I’d take any gig just to keep money coming in.
My favorite place to park was in front of the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department and County Jail. I’d hear crazy undercover bust stories from the cops—and we’d also get newly released hungry patrons looking for free lunch.
One time an older lady who had just gotten released came straight to the truck asking for free pizza. I told her, “Tell me what you got locked up for and I’ll give you a pizza.”
She could’ve made up anything. I just wanted a good story. Instead, she yelled at me for the entire block while walking to the bus stop—and I didn’t have to give her free pizza. I loved working that beat.
5. What’s the most surprising topping combination you’ve tried?
Our friends own a German restaurant and asked us to park outside for their Mayfest party and offer “the best pizzas from Germany.”
The menu: tuna and onions, salami with hollandaise, and broccoli with hard-boiled eggs.
If you drink enough German beer, the salami and hollandaise isn’t terrible. The German crowd loved it. I don’t think it plays anywhere else. To this day, no one has ever requested tuna and onion pizza again.
6. You’re open Wednesday through Sunday. What does a typical day look like?
We get in around noon to handle computer stuff and game-plan before staff arrives. BOH comes in from 2–4 for prep. FOH arrives at 3. We open at 4.
Wednesday and Thursday ramp up after 5. Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays are busy immediately.
We run lean. Everyone is always moving, always thinking ahead. We average 180–220 pizzas a night. We joke around and make fun of each other—even during the busiest services.
7. Catering seems like a big part of your story. What’s the biggest event you’ve done?
Catering used to be huge for us. We were strictly catering at first, then added the food truck. Eventually, the restaurant became the focus.
We’ve catered for Amazon, Facebook, Taylor Farms, Reyes Holdings. The biggest event was 1,200 individual pizzas for Frito-Lay.
Catering honed our craft and funded the restaurant. I hope to scale it back up again soon.
8. Describe your perfect wood-fired setup. Favorite wood?
We’ve used Oonis, Gozneys, Forno Bravos—but Mugniani ovens are the best. We started with one and have another in the restaurant now.
For wood, I prefer oak. We own raw land in the California foothills with valley oak trees, and I cut and chop as much as I can myself. Oak burns hot and clean.
Cherry wood is a close second, and we’re lucky to be in the heart of cherry farming.
9. With hundreds of posts, what content resonates most?
Instagram and Facebook are where we’re most ourselves. Behind-the-scenes, bad days, funny moments.
YouTube is mostly pizza line footage right now—it’s useful for improving service. TikTok is the wild west. We had a video of a chef squirting ranch go viral with half a million views and absolutely unhinged comments.
10. Favorite local suppliers?
Joe’s Chilis is a local farm stand where we get serranos, jalapeños, and shishitos—sometimes we pick them ourselves.
Golden Bear Ranches helps us think seasonally and supplies monthly produce.
Core ingredients: Caputo 00 flour, Stanislaus Alta Cucina tomatoes, Ezzo pepperoni, and Grande cheeses. Fun fact: the CEO of Stanislaus lives in Stockton and eats here.
11. How has the menu evolved?
I thought we’d change seasonally. It turned into a monthly specials menu—3–4 pizzas, apps, and dessert. It’s adventurous, seasonal, and a huge loyalty driver.
12. Advice for making this style at home?
Make dough days in advance. Let it rest. Plan your pizza night like an event.
Heat your oven as hot as possible. Use a pizza stone if you don’t have wood fire.
13. Favorite pizza from another shop?
Moonrise Pizza in Amador City. Sourdough square pies. The “Macha-Man Roni Savage” with pepperoni and Slim Jims rules.
14. Favorite recipe?
Vodka sauce. Onion and garlic in olive oil, tomato paste, vodka (light it on fire), Alta Cucina tomatoes, cream, parmesan. Russian accent optional.
15. Favorite drink pairing?
PBR. $5 a pint. Cold. Perfect.
16. Community involvement?
We partner with the local animal shelter. Upcoming event: “Speed Dating at FIRED: Meet Your Furever Friend.” Dogs, cats, pizza. Enough said.
17. Three pizza makers you’d host dinner with?
Juan G (Posto, Boston), Chef Leo Spizzirri, and Anthony Bourdain.
18. Biggest challenge as an owner?
Consistency. You don’t overcome it—you practice it.
19. Pizza trend you’d invent?
No AI in pizza. Ever.
20. What do you hope customers take away?
That you can do whatever you want. Even if it’s hard. Even if people tell you it won’t work. Give it everything.
Fired Pizza isn’t chasing trends it’s chasing honesty. Honest ingredients, honest work, honest mistakes, and honest joy. From cutting oak in the foothills to slinging pizzas on a packed Friday night, the throughline is simple: care deeply, show up fully, and don’t let anyone else tell you what your idea should be.
Whether you come for a Hot Boi, a cold PBR, or just to feel part of something real, Fired Pizza leaves you with more than a meal—it leaves you with permission to try.
