Detroit-Style Pizza Restaurant “Joyride Pizza” Opens Four San Francisco Locations In 12 Months With Two New Locations Now Open

 

***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***

 

Media Contact:

Jesse P. Cutler

JP Cutler Media

925.253.3163

jesse@jpcutlermedia.com

 

Detroit-Style Pizza Restaurant “Joyride Pizza”

Opens Four San Francisco Locations In 12 Months

With Two New Locations Now Open at 

685 Market St. & Woods Lowside at 530 Haight St.

 

Joyride’s #1 Trending Pizza Reel on Instagram 

With 17.5 Million Views and 382K Likes

Shows the Insatiable Desire Pizza Lovers Have for Detroit-Style Pizza 

 

Brothers & Longtime Business Partners Jesse Jacobs and Joshua Jacobs With Director of

Operations Alastair Hannmann Combine Hi-Tech Baking Techniques with Artisan Pizza Craft to

Bring Joy with Every Slice

 

Joyride Pizza Elevates the Detroit-Style Pizza Experience by Meticulously Baking Light and Airy

Focaccia Crust and Topping It with both Traditional and Innovative Ingredients, 

Served Whole and by the Slice in Its Neighborhood Pizza Shops

 

San Francisco, Calif. — Thursday, September 15, 2022 — Joyride Pizza announces today its rapid expansion throughout iconic San Francisco neighborhoods with the addition of two new locations at 685 Market Street and within the popular craft beer bar Woods Lowside at 530 Haight Street (the latter grew out of high demand for their pop-up at Lowside, and is now permanent). Joyride’s latest locales open following the success of their pizzerias at 411 Valencia Street in the Mission District and 730 Howard Street in Yerba Buena Gardens. Not only are the brick-and-mortars catching the attention of pizza lovers, their crave-worthy Instagram reels are gaining millions of views! Take a look, Joyride Pizza has the #1 trending pizza reel on Instagram with 17.5 million views and 382K likes.

 

The Story of Joyride Pizza

Joyride Pizza is the pandemic pivot created when business partners and brothers Jesse Jacobs and Joshua Jacobs were forced to reimagine their iconic Samovar Tea Lounge locations, which had been serving guests in San Francisco for nearly 20 years before closing due to the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic. To initiate the transformation, the pair brought in Alastair Hannmann as director of operations and resident pizza master. Together, they evolved Samovar’s architecturally rich tea houses — with elegant floor-to-ceiling windows and garden patio framing the San Francisco city skyline in Yerba Buena Gardens, and with machine-shop aesthetic on the urban thoroughfare of Valencia Street — into Detroit-style pizza shops combining the latest hi-tech baking technologies with the time-honored art and craft of pizza making. The resulting high quality is on clear display as sizzling pizzas are sliced from classic steel pans with expert care to preserve the “frico” — crispy, caramelized cheese that fringes the rectangular border and a hallmark of perfectly baked Detroit-style pizza. 

 

When COVID-19 first arrived, the Jacobs brothers launched online ordering, delivery, and contactless pickup for Samovar Tea House. Then they took it further with customized family meal plans, holiday meal specials, in-house delivery and even free jook (rice porridge) and “chai latte Monday’s” for the city’s essential workers — serving thousands of free meals to the grateful community. After nearly six months, with expenses ballooning, both staff and customers leaving the city, and no end in sight, they made the decision to hibernate their tea house operations and put all their efforts into selling tea online at samovartea.com. From a staff that once numbered more than one hundred, their business had shrunk down to just the two brothers and a few extremely dedicated teammates.

 

Down, but not out, the brothers managed their e-commerce tea business while watching — and waiting — for the situation on the ground to improve. This period was also an opportunity to rethink their connection to food not only as nutrition and social fabric, but also as a source of comfort and joy. At that time, a close friend in Sebastopol was reinventing his coffee business into a New York style pizza shop, Acre Pizza, and from time to time he would stop by to discuss business and to taste-test his new pizza recipes. The creativity helped rekindle the Jacobs brothers’ own love of pizza. When vaccines arrived, they started to seriously consider what reopening might look like and how pizza might play a role. The gears finally engaged when they met Alastair Hannmann, instrumental in building Acre Pizza and a longtime veteran of the pizza business with experience ranging from working alongside Tony Gemignani, to running his own pizza shops in Hawaii, and managing production at Zume Inc., a pizza startup unicorn with a top valuation over $2.2 billion.

 

Hannmann joined the Jacobs brothers and together they outlined an ambitious path forward. The first decision was designing the menu. “I’ve always believed that Detroit-style pizza had the potential for huge breakout success — if it was done right. By combining my classic baking experience with the many years of working in pizza in Hawaii, I felt we could make the best tasting Detroit pizza in the city — maybe anywhere,” says Hannmann. But operations posed a significant challenge because the tea houses were never designed for pizza. Retrofitting required a lot of creative thinking and in that crucible they forged an ethos of teamwork, trust and ingenuity. Six months after committing to the new business direction, and with countless long days and nights, staff was onboarded, permits were signed, and Joyride Pizza was open for business. Not only had the transformation been completed, but Joyride Pizza was offering something the city had never seen before: Detroit-style pizza served whole and by the slice.

 

From the first day, passersby would see the fresh slices in the large glass windows, stop for a double take then step inside to see what this rectangular pizza with the cheesy crust was all about. “We see so many people walk by, then turn around to take a closer look at the slices in the window. It looks familiar, with cheese, dough and sauce, but it’s also eye-catching with the unusual rectangular shape and the colorful toppings like arugula, brussels sprouts, ricotta cheese drops, pesto and chicken, or loaded with bacon pepperoni and sausage,” says co-founder Jesse Jacobs. “At Joyride, everything we do is in service of making the best tasting pizza possible. By focusing only on Detroit-style pizza, we obsess over getting all the details perfect. Perfectly hydrated dough with just the right crumb, perfect cheese blend to make a strong weld, and perfectly balanced topping flavors. And the customers love it.”

 

Born in the pandemic, Joyride Pizza also embraced an innovative guest experience. The open kitchen concept invites guests to watch the action as pizzas are topped, baked, and finished while they place their own orders at the automated self-serve ordering platform. “Labor shortages, like so many reopening constraints, forced us to innovate,” says co-founder Joshua Jacobs. “With self-serve ordering, guests can take their time to browse the menu in a low stress way, while we can deliver faster service. Meanwhile our staff can focus on the skilled work of making amazing pizzas. And with the open concept, we can keep the friendly, neighborhood vibe and personalized service. It’s a win, win, win.”

 

Detroit-style pizza may still be unfamiliar to many, but the alluring blend of both familiar and new continues to gain new converts every day. With its innovative approach to serving one of the most popular foods in America, Joyride Pizza has created a new brand with a timeless feel. While it has been open for a relatively short time, the Joyride Pizza team aims to open more locations throughout San Francisco to expand on their current footprint of four locations. 

 

Joyride Pizza Locations & Menu

Joyride Pizza at Yerba Buena Gardens sits atop one of San Francisco’s glorious outdoor green spaces. Here they offer indoor dining along with 49 seats of awe-inspiring views outside on its upper terrace patio, as well as private parties, catering, delivery and takeaway orders. At 411 Valencia, Joyride churns out delicious classic pan pizzas amid the poured concrete and limestone aesthetic on the urban thoroughfare of Valencia Street in the heart of the Mission District at 15th Street. Inside Woods Lowside, Joyride pizzas are made to order in the airy and spacious craft beer taproom flush with greenery and an extensive collection of Woods beer and natural wines. At 3rd Street and Market Street, Joyride Market Street brings artisanal Detroit-style pizzas to workers, locals, and tourists. 

 

Joyride Pizza locations serve Classic Detroit-Style Pizzas including The Cheese, Zoe ‘Roni Pepperoni, Meatzza, Garden Goddess, Sweet Heat Pineapple, Sweet Bianca, Bacon Me Crazy, Pestorrific, Buffalo Chicken and Eat Your Veggies (as well as Build Your Own). Vegan lineup includes pizzas The “Just Like” Cheese and Way Beyond Sausage & Spice. In addition, customers can request that any pizza be made on its light and airy gluten free crust or dairy free with plant-based vegan cheese. The menu also features handcrafted, garden-fresh Salads (Caesar Salad, Date with a Nut, Italian Chop) and Desserts (Sonoma County NY Cheesecake). Recent additions include fresh-baked Dough Knots available with savory garlic Parmesan seasoning or sweet cinnamon and sugar.

 

For more information, please visit:

joyridepizza.com

instagram.com/samovartea

instagram.com/joyride.pizza

instagram.com/jesse

instagram.com/althepizzabuddha

 

Media Contact: Jesse P. Cutler, JP Cutler Media, 925.253.3163, jesse@jpcutlermedia.com

 

###