Not everyone loves authentic Neapolitan pizza. In fact, most of Jacksonville, Florida-based V Pizza’s customers say they don’t much care for it at all. And the owners of the Neapolitan-style chain, which has 13 locations in Florida, North Carolina and Georgia, are listening.
In a rare move for an established pizza chain—V Pizza opened its first store in Jacksonville in 2014—the owners recently announced they are changing their dough formula to accommodate customers’ preference for a firmer, less hydrated crust.
V Pizza was founded by Paul Scott, Kris Williams and Mark Turner as a full-fledged Neapolitan pizzeria, baking up pies in Italian-made brick ovens with imported Italian ingredients and a higher-hydration dough. “Bringing the flavor of old-world Italy to our hometown of Jacksonville, Florida, was always our dream,” the pizzeria’s website states. “In the beginning, we wondered if customers would like Italian food so different from what they’re used to in America. Would they enjoy real bufala mozzarella or burn marks on our crust? But we believed in the taste that Italians perfected for hundreds of years. We figured they might just be on to something.”
As it turns out, many of V Pizzeria’s customers had mixed opinions, despite the owners’ efforts to educate them about the Neapolitan style over the past 10 years. And that’s according to the owners themselves, who explained the upcoming change to their crust recipe in a pair of remarkable December 8 posts on Facebook and Instagram.
“By most accounts, we’ve succeeded,” the post’s caption read, “but one recurring comment has stood out: ‘Cocktails are amazing, but the pizza is soggy.’ ‘Best wings ever, but the pizza is just okay.’ ‘I stick to the stromboli because the pizza isn’t my favorite.’”
The wording of the posts, which included regular text captions and, as shown below, photos with supplemental text, differed slightly on the two social media platforms but conveyed a virtually identical message. Altogether, it’s an impressive display of transparency, adaptability and responsiveness to customers’ concerns.
The owners said they polled customers at one V Pizza location, asking the question, “Would you prefer classic Napoletana crust or a firmer version of the same crust?” When respondents asked about the difference, they were told that the firmer version “has slight changes in water and yeast ratios and includes a specific amount of proofed dough versus all being fresh. Plus, it proofs for a minimum of 24 hours.”
V Pizza said it put the question to more than 1,400 customers, and nine out of 10 preferred a firmer crust.
With that in mind, V Pizza wrote, “The change will roll out at all locations.” But the brand said it will “never compromise on the world’s best ingredients” and “will always serve exceptional Napoletana pizza made with the same Italian 00 flour and high-quality toppings.”
“The crust will be slightly firmer and pizzas will be less watery,” the Instagram post goes on to state. “This isn’t about saving money or time; it actually requires more effort. We just want to offer what most of you prefer.” And for those customers who favor the classic Neapolitan style, “All we ask is for a little grace and a chance to win you over. We’re confident you’ll love this version just as much, if not more.”
V Pizza also laid out the changes that patrons can expect in the dough formula, including the addition of a starter and EVOO, and how the alterations will affect the final crust’s texture and flavor.
The post received 655 likes, 295 comments and 20 shares on Facebook along with 146 likes on Instagram—and plenty of kudos from V Pizza’s followers.
V Pizza has dubbed the firmer pizza crust “Americano style” but stressed that “the method and way we are preparing and cooking is still completely ‘Neapolitan’….Nine out of 10 people told us they wanted ‘Americano Style’ [and] like a pizza with [a] less soupy center and a firmer crispier crust.”
And that’s what they’re going to get, thanks to a brand that’s willing to evolve and adapt even after 10 years in business.
It should be noted, however, that V Pizza (the V stands for “Veloce”—or “fast” in Italian) was honored for Best Neapolitan Pizza in the May 2024 “Best in Jax” issue of Jacksonville Magazine and the Best Pizza in Jacksonville for 2021 by readers of the Florida Times-Union and Jacksonville.com, among numerous other local and regional awards since 2014.
