SPIN! Neapolitan Pizza’s executive chef Michael Smith has been named the Chef Innovator of the Year by industry authority Nation’s Restaurant News. The MenuMasters Awards recognize winners for creating menu items that the magazine’s editorial board has “judged to have had a significant impact on the industry”. They describe Smith as “a standard-bearer for culinary excellence for the past 20 years”.
Smith, the first Kansas City chef named a James Beard Award winner, has directed the culinary development of SPIN!® Pizza’s menu and recipes since it prepared to open its first location in 2005. SPIN! Pizza’s food and concept also have won numerous awards including being named one of the “Rest of the 101 Best Restaurants” in the nation by top foodie website TheDailyMeal.com.
Smith began his career at Chateau Pyrenees in Denver before heading to the south of France in 1985, where he cooked in Nice and Cassis. He briefly returned to the U.S., serving as sous chef at Chicago’s legendary Charlie Trotter’s, before returning to Nice where he was executive chef at L’Albion. His return to Chicago led him to Carlos, where he was co-chef, followed by taking the helm as executive chef at Gordon.
In 1994, Smith accepted a position at The American Restaurant in Kansas City. In 1999, his innovative impact on the iconic restaurant was recognized with a James Beard Award. In 2002, he left to open his own restaurant. Today, his celebrated restaurants, Michael Smith, and Extra Virgin, are nationally recognized. He also serves as executive chef for SPIN! Neapolitan Pizza.
Known for its exceptional, artisan food made from fresh ingredients without the gourmet price and its eclectic, affordable premium wines, SPIN!’s homemade soups, made-from-scratch salad dressings, as well as its pizza toppings and ingredients are prepared fresh daily from fresh produce and meats. SPIN! also offers an array of appetizers, soups, amazing salads, signature Panini and Italian deli sandwiches, and all natural gelato ice creams.
SPIN! serves a diverse selection of hand-spun, stone-fired traditional thin-and-bubbly crust, rustic whole wheat, and gluten-free pizzas. SPIN! takes the unique step of boosting the flavors by roasting all toppings and ingredients in its stone hearth ovens each day, including mushrooms, caramelized onions, artichokes, and even capers, pecans, pineapple, pine nuts, and pancetta.
SPIN! offers both traditional Pizza Rossa (red pizzas with crushed tomato sauce) and Pizza Bianca (white pizzas with roasted garlic olive oil glaze), and many hand-grated cheeses. SPIN!’s pizza dough is made fresh every day using several types of flour including one specially imported from Italy, and its gluten free crust is renowned for its flavor and texture.
SPIN! ‘s Margherita Pizza was crowned one of the best dishes of the year among all the restaurants in the nation by Restaurant Business magazine, it’s ranked number one by Zagat among Kansas City pizza restaurants, it has been named Best Pizza by numerous Greater Kansas City publications, and it’s been awarded Best Gluten-Free Menu.
In addition to its food, SPIN! is renowned for its rotating roster of affordable premium wines priced well below traditional restaurant prices. SPIN! also makes homemade white, red and blood orange sangrias and offers a selection of craft beers.
SPIN! Neapolitan Pizza has six area locations. The Missouri locations include 4950 Main in Kansas City and 1808 N.W. Chipman Rd. in Lee’s Summit. The Kansas restaurants are located at 6541 W. 119th St. in Overland Park, 14230 W. 119th St. in Olathe, 9474 Renner Blvd. in Lenexa, and 8224 Mission Rd. in Prairie Village.
For more information, visit www.spinpizza.com.
About SPIN! Neapolitan Pizza
Award-winning SPIN! Neapolitan Pizza is known for its exceptional, artisan food made from fresh ingredients without the gourmet price and its eclectic, affordable premium wines. Named a 2013 Breakout Brand by industry authority Nation’s Restaurant News, SPIN! was named one of the “Rest of the 101 Best Restaurants” in the nation by top foodie website TheDailyMeal.com. Its Margherita Pizza was crowned one of the nation’s best dishes of the year by Restaurant Business magazine, its architecture won Best of Show at the Mid America Design Awards, and it was named a “Top 100 Movers and Shakers” by Pizza Marketplace. Ranked number one by Zagat among Kansas City pizza restaurants, it has been named best pizza by every major Greater Kansas City publication. SPIN!’s menu is created in collaboration with James Beard Award-winning chef Michael Smith. Founded in 2005, SPIN! has six locations in the Greater Kansas City area and franchises in Southern California and the San Francisco Bay Area. This is the second national concept created by SPIN! partners Gail and Richard Lozoff, Edwin Brownell, and Michael Kramer, who are experienced in large multi-unit expansion, franchising, and operations. www.spinpizza.com.
