Pizza with mayo or jalapeno poppers? Lawrence-based eatery to open in Kansas City
A popular Kansas pizza place is venturing into the Crossroads with a prototype that could lead to further expansion.
Lawrence-based Pizza Shuttle, which also has a restaurant in Overland Park, has taken a corner building at 1801 Baltimore Ave. for a mid-to-late June opening. The Art of Pizza formerly occupied the space, but the building is being remodeled.
“I’ve traveled all over, and my wife and I have lived all over, but Kansas City is my favorite town in the world,” said Ryan Wright, who owns Pizza Shuttle with his wife, Traci. “There’s not a better place for us to go than in the heart of the city we love.”
Pizza Shuttle mixes its dough and sauce fresh daily, uses the “best California tomatoes” and local vegetables delivered daily, its own blend of spices, and 100% meat and cheese (no fillers).
Customers can customize their pizzas, or pick one of the specialty pizzas.
Amy’s CBR comes with chicken, bacon, ranch dressing and mozzarella. The Big Greek has spinach, feta cheese, roasted red peppers, minced garlic, chicken and extra cheese. Karen’s BTO is layered with mayonnaise, cheese, bacon, tomato and onion.
It also has monthly specials that are often so popular they can make the permanent menu, such as these pizzas: crab Rangoon (cream cheese base, crab and green onion, topped with sweet and sour sauce and crispy wontons), bacon macaroni and cheese, and jalapeno poppers. A cereal milk pizza is in the works. It also has Cheesesticks with seasoned garlic spread, and Sweetsticks with cinnamon and sugar and icing on the side.
The company was founded in 1984 in Lawrence. The Wrights purchased it in October 2019.
As an Applebee’s corporate employee, Ryan said he traveled weekly, working from sunup to sundown.
“My wife and I said, ‘Enough is enough,’” he said. “And we had an entrepreneurial spirit. We didn’t look back.”
They purchased Brobecks Barbeque in 2017, bought a liquor store in Minnesota in 2019, and they are minority partners in Parlor food hall in the Crossroads.
The Overland Park Pizza Shuttle location, at 12094 W. 135th St., opened two years ago. Both the Lawrence and Overland Park locations are about 2,500-square-feet, while the new Crossroads location will be only about 1,600-square feet. But it will serve as a prototype for possible franchisees — to show the sales volume they can do in a smaller space. About 70% of its sales are carryout and delivery.
“We have a lot of folks interested in Wichita and Topeka and elsewhere who love Pizza Shuttle and want to bring it to their neighborhoods,” he said. “It’s a come-as-you-are, not pretentious, high-quality, value pizza place.”
The Crossroads has a variety of pizza options, including Grinders, Buffalo State Pizza Co. and Providence Pizzeria Co. in Parlor food hall.
The Art of Pizza closed in September 2019, with the owner blaming health problems.