Chipotle's Pizza Concept Thinks We're All Making Pizza Wrong

Pizzeria Locale — the Chipotle-backed fast-casual pizza concept — has taken issue with traditional 00 flour, which is "widely used" in the pizza industry. Co-founder Bobby Stuckey tells Nation's Restaurant News that the flour is just "not healthy for you." Instead, the pizzeria micro-chain (which currently has two locations, plus a third coming soon) is now making their crusts with Edison wheat, "an heirloom variety grown in Oregon and milled partially in house at the restaurant." The hipster wheat is apparently quite "nutrient dense" and offers a flavor "not found in commoditized wheat." Perhaps this is Locale's play to differentiate itself from other pizza chains that actually have more than two locations.

Stuckey is adamant that swapping to an heirloom wheat from white flour will not raise the price of the product. However, the flour is "trickier to work with" and requires a lot more attention when making the dough. While some customers have reacted positively to the change, there are a few who hate it: Stuckey admits he received a phone call from a customer who told them they were "nuts" for switching the dough recipe. For now, the heirloom wheat crust is only available at Pizzeria Locale's Denver location.