Micah Pfister didn’t have much pizza-making experience when he decided earlier this year to put to use the pizza oven he’d kept in storage for more than a decade.
Pfister’s wife, Katie, had just moved her booming Marietta bakery and cafe Sessions Stand from its original location on Sessions Street to a larger space across the street.
The pair previously owned The Butcher The Baker and WR Social House on Marietta Square, but hadn’t dabbled in making pizza before. That didn’t stop Pfister from thinking the old Sessions Stand space would make a perfect takeout pizza spot.
Credit: Photo courtesy of Alex Roberts
Credit: Photo courtesy of Alex Roberts
He opened Micah-Angelo’s Pizza in early August after a few months of perfecting his dough and sauce recipes. The tiny space allows just enough room for the pizza oven, with orders taken at a walk-up window and picked up at a counter on the side of the building behind a roll-up garage door painted with a smiling piece of pizza holding a sign that says, “Ciao, Y’all!”
Pfister started creating pies in July after reading some books and watching videos on YouTube. Katie gifted him some of her decade-old sourdough starter, which he fed Italian flour to create the dough. He taste-tested several sauces before settling on a red sauce with San Marzano tomatoes pureed with herbs, garlic, salt and “lots of love,” Pfister joked, and a white sauce with roasted garlic and goat cheese.
All pizzas are fired in the oven at about 750 degrees, resulting in a Neapolitan-style pie with a soft center and a charred crust.
Pfister describes Micah-Angelo’s pizza as “Marietta-style,” meaning “we don’t know what we’re doing. We’re making it up as we go along. I didn’t really know what a white sauce was. I’m know they’re normally made with ricotta or mascarpone, but we did something different. We’re really just having fun.”
The core menu consists of cheese; pepperoni; Tre Meat with Italian sausage, pepperoni; soppressata; Antipasto with coppa, banana peppers, black olives, sun-dried tomatoes, red peppers, mozzarella and balsamic; Spicy with soppressata, Calabrian chiles and pearl mozzarella; and Bianca Shroom with oyster mushrooms, arugula and mozzarella.
There’s also a seasonal pie that will change depending on available ingredients. Right now, it’s topped with Pearson peaches, bacon, white sauce and hot honey; the next iteration will likely feature apples.
Credit: Photo courtesy of Alex Roberts
Credit: Photo courtesy of Alex Roberts
“The seasonal gives us a little more of a creative outlet,” he said. “Doing the same thing over and over drives me crazy.”
All pizzas are sold as 16-inch whole pies; cheese and pepperoni are also available by the slice. A lunch combo also offers a chef’s choice slice of pizza and a Caesar salad for $12.
Though the tight space doesn’t allow for much beyond pizza, Pfister said most customers take their pizza across the street to Session Stand, order a coffee or a cocktail, and enjoy both on the green space in front of the businesses. In the coming weeks, Micah-Angelo’s will start delivering to customers across the street.
“It’s been really well-received,” Pfister said. “We still have a lot to learn in terms of the space and dough manipulation, but all in all, (these are) good problems to have. It’s been fun.”
Micah-Angelo’s is open 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays; 5-8 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays; 5-9 p.m. Fridays; and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturdays.
380 N. Sessions St., Marietta. instagram.com/micahangelos_pizza
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