New South Asheville restaurant opens, challenges diners' idea of traditional pizza
For years, New York and Chicago-style pizzas have garnered mainstream fanfare but a local restaurant is ready to show diners what they've been missing in Detroit-style pizza.
Pi-Squared Pizza specializes in Detroit's classic square pizza with a crispy-soft crust and saucy top.
On March 2, Pi-Squared opened at 2615 Hendersonville Road in Arden.
Several years ago, Andria Lassiter moved from Michigan to North Carolina. She met Karen Rampey and her husband, Ray, who introduced her to their restaurant, Pi-Squared Pizza.
The first Pi-Squared was in Hendersonville in 2016. The second soon followed in Spartanburg in 2017. Both locations were a hit with customers.
"It really has taken off," Karen Rampey said. "It's such a unique flavor and pizza and we knew not many people had heard about it outside of Detroit."
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Like Ray Rampey, Lassiter hails from Detroit and was looking for a new business pursuit. So when Lassiter learned the company was expanding and seeking franchisees, she seized the opportunity.
“We needed to bring a little bit of Detroit pie love to the area," Lassiter said. "It’s also close proximity to the Hendersonville location. Their location has grown in popularity, so this is a nice sister store to that main flagship.”
The Arden restaurant hours are 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. For now, the restaurant will be closed on Mondays, due to labor shortages.
A grand opening celebration is being planned for April.
The pizzeria is fast-casual with counter service, and orders are delivered to the table. Carryout and delivery service is available.
Lasister is planning to open more Pi-Squared franchises in the Asheville area over the next couple of years, she said.
“You’ll definitely see more of us,” Lassiter said.
What is Detroit-style pizza?
Legend has it that Detroit-style pizza dates to the 1940s following World War II.
It’s a Sicilian-style pizza reimagined and a product of its environment.
The pizza originated with a Sicilian dough recipe. Pi-Squared uses a recipe founded on the concept but customized for the modern day restaurant.
“Detroit-style pizza starts off with the propriety dough that we make in-house every day,” Lassiter said. “You’re not going to be able to get it anywhere else.”
The pie is baked in a square or rectangle pan with the result being a crust that’s light and airy on the inside but crispy on the outside. The steel pan is a nod to Detroit’s automotive industry.
“It’s baked in a steel pan and we use real extra virgin olive oil before we out the dough in," Lassiter said. "What that does is allows the dough to be light and airy and fluffy but that olive oil gives it that nice, good, crisp crust.”
The dough is topped with cheese, toppings and lastly, tomato sauce. The sauce-on-top layering is a key factor, as well as what it’s cooked in.
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“With Detroit-style, the toppings and the cheese go all the way to the edge and so that cheese, once it hits the side of that pan, melts down on the side and almost helps to caramelize while it goes down,” Lassiter said. “Then, in classic Detroit form, we put the sauce on top of the toppings and the cheese.”
What to order
Pi-Squared’s bestseller is, rightly so, the Detroiter.
The pizza is simply made with spicy pepperoni and Italian seasoning.
“Sometimes we do double-decker so it’s an extra, extra pepperoni pie,” Lassiter said.
The Fig-et About It is a “unique classic” and popular with guests, she said. It’s made with mission figs, Gorgonzola cheese, extra virgin olive oil and red pepper seeds. It doesn’t have a pizza sauce but is finished with a drizzle of honey.
Another pizza that forgoes the traditional pizza sauce is the Boozy Bacon.
It was added a couple of years ago and was created during a local cooking challenge that required competitors to create a dish using bourbon, Lassiter said. It’s made with bacon, feta cheese, red onions, peaches, crushed red pepper seeds and finished with a bourbon barbecue drizzle.
More signature dishes are available, and guests may choose to customize their pie. Pizzas are offered in four or eight square slices.
Pi-Squared has more to offer than pizza, including salads, wings, oven-baked subs and Detroit-style calzone.
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“The wings are bombdiggity sweet,” Lassiter said. “They’re nice and crispy but they still hold the moisture. They’re not rubbery."
Wings may be ordered bone-in or no bone from half a dozen to two dozen per order.
Lassiter's favorite flavor of wing sauce is the Nashville Hot. Other options include Sweet Heat, Bourbon-style, Citrus Chipotle and Hot Buffalo.
Also, there is frozen custard with a variety and flavors and toppings. Wine is expected to be added later.
“You have pizza, a good bottle of wine and what else do you need to finish it off? You have the saltiness of the pizza, the sweetness of that creamy frozen custard,” Lassiter said.
Pi-Squared Pizza
Where: 2615 Hendersonville Road, Arden
Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday
Info: For more details, visit pi-squaredpizza.com/ or call (828)-676-0231.
Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at tkennell@citizentimes.com or follow her on Twitter/Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Pi-Squared Pizza expands into Asheville with Detroit-style pizza
