In the year 2024, there are many pizzerias across the country that started as pop-ups during the pandemic. Few, if any, have had the success of MOTO Pizza, a Detroit-style pizza brand that now claims four locations in the Seattle metro area. MOTO will soon add a fifth pizzeria in Bellevue Square, followed by one in Bellingham.
Yesterday, Lee Kindell, owner and operator of MOTO Pizza, announced the brand is adding delivery to the mix via third-party aggregator Olo. He also told Seattle Met that he hopes MOTO will be able to offer first-party delivery someday soon—complete with mini Fiats and electric bikes.
“We want to bring some of the old-school service back to the game,” he said. He added that he pictures his own drivers carrying around pouches of sauce and other extras—and that he may even deliver some of the pies himself.
Related: MOTO Pizza Lands $1.85 Million Investment, Plans to Expand
For now, though, Kindell and his team will focus on fulfilling as many orders as possible via a mix of in-store sales and Olo delivery. It wasn’t long ago that MOTO Pizza experienced so much demand for its pizza that it was forced to implement an order-ahead, slotted system where pizza would sell out months in advance.
The crowd was after Kindell’s unique, and apparently wildly delicious, Filipino-influenced pizza. Standout menu items include the Crab! pizza, featuring Dungeness crab, and the Mr. Pig, featuring Filipino pork belly.
According to Kindell, the order-ahead aspect of his business has stabilized, allowing him to do things like add delivery. Kindell believes a lot of people don’t realize lines have finally gone down to the point where same-day and walk-in orders are now an option. Announcing delivery, then, is a way to communicate to customers that they, too, can get the hottest slice in Seattle.
Delivery, and hopefully soon, first-party delivery aren’t the only things Kindell is hoping to add in the near future. Seattle Met reports that MOTO Pizza will be beta testing drone delivery with Zipline next year.
Much of MOTO’s expansion was unlocked by a $1.85 million infusion from a venture capital firm last year. At the time, Kindell said the money would help the brand continue to invest in technology and automate more of its processes.
