Quick-serve MOD Pizza coming to Kansas City

Seattle-based MOD Pizza is coming to Kansas City.

New area franchisee, Scott Womack of Womack Restaurants Inc. in Terre Haute, Ind., plans to open 15 restaurants in the metro area and Kansas by 2021. The first is scheduled for the Liberty area.

MOD Pizza offers made-to-order individual artisan-style pizzas using fresh-pressed dough, its signature sauces and a choice of more than 30 toppings — including spinach, seasonal roasted vegetables, bacon, crumbled meatballs, dairy-free cheese and pesto drizzle — for about $8. They are cooked in an 800 degree oven in less than three minutes.

Specialty pizzas include the Mad Dog (with mozzarella, pepperoni, mild sausage, crumbled meatballs and MOD red sauce), the Calexico (mozzarella, gorgonzola, chicken, jalapenos, hot buffalo sauce and MOD red sauce), the Caspian (mozzarella, gorgonzola, barbecue chicken, barbecue sauce and sliced red onions) and Pizza Salad (customers can create their own salad on a warm asiago pizza crust).

Other menu items include handspun milkshakes, house-made lemonades, iced tea, local craft beers and wine.

The company was founded in 2008 and has 88 restaurants in 14 states. It plans to have 93 restaurants in 15 states by the end of the year and 200 restaurants by the end of 2016.

It calls its employees The Mod Squad and says it will hire people who may have a troubled background but are looking for a fresh start.

While most of Womack’s MOD Pizza locations will be in the metro, he also is considering markets like Lawrence and St. Joseph.

He also has 11 Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen locations in the Kansas City area, as well as four in Tulsa.

This story was originally published December 14, 2015 at 2:20 PM with the headline "Quick-serve MOD Pizza coming to Kansas City."