Brenz Pizza Co. plans gourmet-pie location near New Albany, Hamilton Quarter
Brenz Pizza Co. is about to add to the growing mix of restaurant options in northeast Columbus near New Albany.
The third local Brenz Pizza Co. – and the company's sixth overall – is expected to open in September at 4963 E. Dublin-Granville Road in the vicinity of Hamilton Quarter.
“Columbus is a very fierce pizza market. A lot of great competitors out there, and they have a very distinct style,” said Kyle Rosch, director of business development for the locally based company. “What makes us a little different is we’re trying to bring a little bit of gourmet pizza to the masses.”
That starts with a hand-tossed dough that’s proofed in the refrigerator, not room temperature, for at least 72 hours, helping it development a fermented, yeasty flavor.
In addition, the pizzeria uses Grande Cheese Co.’s blend of mozzarella and provolone, tomatoes from Stanislaus Foods and locally made pepperoni and sausage at Ezzo Sausage Co.
The rustically built store is designed mostly for carryout, delivery and catering, with 18 seats for dine-in customers.
Specialties include the Heater, with hot sauce and jalapenos; the Heartland, with pepperoni, bacon, balsamic caramelized onions and roasted red peppers; the Brenz Bomber, offering homemade meatballs; buffalo chicken; and a white pizza.
Build-your-own ingredients are available, plus wings, salads, breadsticks and dessert options.
Pizzas come in 8, 12 14 and 16 inches and range in price from $7.50 for a basic personal pizza to $27.50 for the 16-inch All the Meat pie, which is topped with five different meats.
“Our 16-inch pizza, the specialty, it feeds five people,” he said.
Customers have their choice of square- or pie-cut pies.
Rosch said the Greater New Albany area was selected because of the residential and commercial growth and proximity to the New Albany International Business Park.
“I think there’s a market for a gourmet pizza place,” he said.
Brenz is owned by Rosch, Scott Brenen Morse and his father, Scott Morse, who founded the first store, Enzo’s Pizza Co., in 2010 in Durham, North Carolina, near Duke University.
Brenz Pizza Co. now has locations: at 1551 Lennox Town Lane near Ohio State University in Columbus, 6486 Perimeter Drive in Dublin and others in Chapel Hill and Durham, North Carolina, and Knoxville, Tennessee. A related enterprise, Brenen’s Café, is at the Ohio State University Biomedical Research Tower.
On a side note, a spinoff of Scott Brenen Morse’s middle name serves as the pizza company’s label.
Jim Ellison, local pizza connoisseur, historian and author of the book “Columbus Pizza: A Slice of History,” said the Hamilton Road corridor is ready for more independent pizzerias and the area is ready to support many pizza styles.
“Location-wise, it makes sense for that kind of pizza place, looking at their Dublin location, looking at their Lennox location,” Ellison said. “It’s not a pizza-dense region of Columbus.”
gseman@thisweeknews.com
@ThisWeekGary
This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Brenz Pizza opening third central Ohio location near New Albany
