File this one under “good problems to have.” A pizzeria and brewery in Central Point, Oregon, opened its doors for the first time last weekend and ended up with all the business it could handle—and then some.
After getting swamped by hungry hordes on Saturday and Sunday, the owners of Ferment & Fire Restaurant & Brewery announced they were “taking a short pause to regroup, retrain and reset” so they could deliver the kind of experience their guests deserve. The reset went from Tuesday, July 22, through Friday, July 25. The restaurant opened for business again on Saturday, July 26.
Co-owner Tim Alvarez told KDRV that his team fired up more than 400 pies on Saturday, July 19, their opening day—many more than they were planning for. “We figured 250 pizzas a day would be a good day,” he said.
It didn’t help that their POS system crashed, too. “Basically, we were losing pizzas from the front of house to the back,” Alvarez said in the KDRV interview. “We were constantly playing catch-up. It was so busy, it was hard to make those pizzas that fast.”
Kyle Secciani, Ferment & Fire’s co-owner and head brewer, had to jump in and help take care of customers. “I was bussing tables, talking to people, doing the best I could,” he said. “The front area was where we saw our biggest difficulties.”
In a social media post, the owners explained why they were closing down for a few days. “With such an amazing turnout, we quickly saw where we shine and where we need to do better, especially in service and wait times,” the post stated.
Alvarez and Secciani, both longtime friends, partnered with their other buddies, Eric Goergen and Mike McGrath, to launch Ferment & Fire.
Goergen previously owned a boutique food truck in Medford and is now the restaurant’s “lead pizza craftsman.” Prior to getting into the pizza business, Goergen and his wife had gotten stuck in New York for 10 days during a snow storm, according to the pizzeria’s website. While there, the couple went on a “life-changing pizza pilgrimage,” visiting the city’s most iconic pizzerias, and “their tastebuds were transformed.”
Goergen’s dough undergoes a five-day ferment for a light, chewy and crispy crust. The website notes, “At any given time, more than 1,500 dough balls are in our slow-rise rotation—each one developing depth, texture and character.”
Alvarez and Secciani started out brewing small-batch beer under the name Eighty Beats Brewery in Central Point. The beers were a hit with customers at a winery owned by Alvarez’s in-laws, leading them to partner up with Goergen on the pizza side and founding Ferment & Fire with McGrath, another brewmaster.
“Basics Done Best” is the pizzeria’s motto, which is reflected in the non-pretentious menu. It features five specialty pies: the BBQ Pork, White Pie, Pepperoni, Hot Honey Pepperoni and Classic Cheese, priced between $18 and $20.
Now the owners just have to master the basics of handling bigger crowds than expected. But they’re not complaining about the first weekend’s overwhelming turnout. “Literally, it brought a tear to my eye,” Alvarez told KDRV. “People were excited, and I’m excited that they’re excited. I just want to make sure they’re happy when they come in.”
