Family-owned restaurant serves customized crust options for pizza pies with local produce
Gourmet Pizza Company
Pizza is usually thought as the ultimate comfort food, but if you have strict dietary restrictions, finding the perfect slice can be hard. FOX 13 photojournalist Jason Wright takes us inside a local restaurant in Hyde Park that has spent nearly three decades making sure everyone has a seat at the table.
TAMPA - For 27 years, South Tampa residents have been treated to a handcrafted pizzeria that's family-owned and dedicated to making their customers feel special. The Gourmet Pizza Company counts their success to their commitment to fresh produce, high-quality ingredients and making each customer happy on every visit.
Customers keep coming back
What we know:
Gourmet Pizza Company has focused on utilizing fresh, high-quality ingredients since their opening.
"Gourmet Pizza, ever since 1999, has really been focused on like the highest, freshest quality ingredients, providing pizza specifically for you," shared one of the owners, Natasha Harris. "So, regardless of dietary restrictions or health food restrictions or anything like that, we try to specialize our pizzas for the person, so everyone can enjoy the ultimate comfort food."
Some of these specialized ingredients are imported and others are locally sourced for freshness.
"What makes it gourmet? Honestly, I say our ingredients and then, the fact that it's been family-owned for so long," answered Harris. "So, our ingredients are the highest quality we can get our hands on, some of them directly from Italy itself. As local as possible as well with our produce options."
Because it is a family-owned operation, clients interact directly with the same familiar faces every day.
"Our customers get to know us and our faces," admitted Harris. "People know that they're coming in here and getting the best customer service."
Memorable menu items
What they're saying:
The chef at Gourmet Pizza Company kneads the dough daily to create the airy crusts that each pizza gets built upon.
"Not only do we have our traditional pizza crust, which is a good combination between a Neapolitan and a New York style; so, it still gets the fluffy air bubbles, while containing the New York style slice. A really great traditional crust," said Harris. "But we also have the gluten-free options as well as vegan options, and any combination that a customer may require as well."
That traditional crust keeps each slice crispy on the edges while maintaining a very ‘holdable’ slice of pizza.
They also offer anti-pastas, wings, garlic knots, pastas, desserts and other items beyond pizza.
"The oven-baked wings, the flatbreads, and salads are really, really big deal here too because they're huge portions," said Harris.
What you can do:
Gourmet Pizza Company is in Hyde Park. They are located at 610 South Armenia Avenue just north of West Swann Avenue.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from Natasha Harris, the owner's wife, who explained the history and menu options of the family-owned Gourmet Pizza Company during an interview.