Profile: Observation Pizza

Rallying together after the passing of their founder, Observation Pizza has become a symbol of love in KC.

Observation Pizza (and Nick Vella) broke into the pizza market in mid-2020, quickly becoming a cult favorite in Kansas City and a bright spot for many during the pandemic. After Vella’s tragic passing, his team rallied to continue the Observation Pizza mission: bringing good quality pizza to the people. Read on to hear from Observation Pizza Chef, Melissa Dodd, about all things pizza and what we can expect from them in 2021.

Tell me a little about your team and how Observation Pizza came to be.

The start of Observation Pizza really began because Nick Vella was furloughed from the Savoy when they decided to shut down for a few months during quarantine, around the beginning of April. I remember Nick inviting me over to his house a couple of times because he had made some food for fun and wanted to give some out to his friend/see how they were doing. Nick definitely thrived through relationships with friends and family, I think quarantine was dragging on him and making food for his friends was a good way to reach out to them again. One day in the middle of April he invited me over to have some pizza he had made for fun. I was honestly shocked at how good that pizza was; I remember sitting in my car with my friend at a gas station eating this pizza and just thinking; "Oh my god, this is probably one of the best things I've ever put in my mouth," no joke haha.

Since then, I heard through our friend group that he just started posting on Instagram that he made a few doughs and if anyone wants one they can DM him. One thing led to another, and all of a sudden he's telling me he was working out of his kitchen from about 8 am to 1 am - buying food, making dough, preparing pizzas for people, and cleaning up at the end of the night, for four days a week. He became a popular sensation, all through word of mouth and posting on Instagram. His personality and passion for quality ingredients were the core of his pizza's popularity, and Nick was a very optimistic person. Once he realized how much he loved making pizzas for people and how much they loved them, he decided to go all in. Instead of returning to the Savoy when they reopened, he rented out a small kitchen in The Bauer a month prior.

On the first day of being in the new space (June 1st), he called me and asked if I'd like to help put ice creams and salads on the menu, do prep, and deliver pizzas in the morning. After about a month or so, he hired a part-time dish/delivery guy and another cook (Austin) to help with prep and running the kitchen– all of us had worked with him at the Savoy previously, before being furloughed from the Savoy. He eventually taught Austin and I how to run service, making pizzas and dough, so he could have some time to himself (after months of hard work) and focus on finding us a location.

How do you decide on your pizza toppings and funky flavor combos? Tell me about your process.

Something that made Nick's menu fun and unique is that each pizza has a personality through its chosen character. The Jimmy Buffet pizza came from the very well-known song "Margaritaville", and is a simple margarita pizza with a tomato base, basil, burrata, and mozzarella finished with sea salt and an olive oil/garlic oil blend brushed on the crust. Nick chose artists that he liked to listen to, which mostly includes rock, jazz, funk, and blues. It started with his love for the Grateful Dead, as the Jerome John Garcia is our classic pepperoni pizza. His original logo is based on the skull with red and blue and the lightning flash in the center.

The majority of the pizzas on the current menu are Nick's originals– we did remove a couple just because they weren't selling as well, and we wanted to downsize our menu just a bit. When we add a new pizza or run a monthly special, we consider his taste in music and how they are cohesive with the restaurant-style. We also consider the quality of ingredients and where we can get them to ensure the best price and value. We shop for local ingredients from farmers when we can, and we make a great majority of our product in-house. A new addition we've made, the Carlos Santana, is our version of a taco pizza. It includes a garlic base, mozzarella, carnitas, queso fresco, and is finished with salsa verde, cilantro, onion, and a couple of lime wedges.

What is your favorite pizza on the menu?

Honestly, this is a hard question. I'm not trying to brag at all; each pizza brings its own unique flavor and it's hard to choose one. I love the Bobby Shazam because it really doesn't sound like it would work but it surprisingly comes together very well. Mortadella, pepperoni, pepperoncini, green olives, American cheese, finished with ranch? But yes, it works, and damn well at that. This was one of Nick's favs since it showed his "nasty good" style, making it a staple here at Observation. The Elvis is my other fav when I'm feeling something sweet- Reese’s Pieces, Reese’s peanut butter cups, bacon, brie cheese, pinenuts, basil, and Nutella finished with bacon fat and powdered sugar. Oh my god, sooo good. Another highly criticized yet highly loved pizza.

As for Austin, I know his favorite is the IZ, which is our Hawaiian-style pizza. I'm surprised to say it's our most popular pizza because, there's always a huge debate on whether pineapple should go on pizza or not. But I will say, I don't like pineapple on pizza, and this one changed my mind. And it does that to a lot of people, which is why I think it's so popular. The key is to use fresh pineapple- not canned. It seems obvious, but it really does make a huge difference.

If you could be one pizza topping, what would you be?

I guess if I had to describe myself as a pizza topping I'd be.... figs? I definitely lean more towards the pastry side of cooking, but also enjoy learning the savory side. Figs are always a go-to for desserts but still bring out good qualities in savory dishes with good flavor composition. Austin would definitely be a pickled mushroom though.

What goals do you have for your business in 2021?

Our goals for 2021 mainly include finding a location for our shop. We'd like to be settling somewhere around May/the end of May to really launch ourselves for the summer. At that time, some COVID restrictions will be lifted allowing us to serve more guests and in a seated area versus curbside and delivery only. We want to take the risk of running a fully operational restaurant to see how successful this thing can really be. It started with wanting this business to be successful because of Nick's passing; he worked so hard to get this thing going and keeping it on its feet is the least we can do. But as time went on, talking with customers and seeing just how happy they were to be buying pizza from us is very fulfilling. Now we just want to provide KC the best pizza we can, for Nick and for our customers.

What’s been your favorite part of this Observation Pizza journey?

Another hard question– so much has happened in so little time. But because of that, we've been working our way up and building this business from pure passion. Nick was incredibly passionate about Observation, which is why it was truly heartbreaking when he suddenly passed. Austin and I found ourselves lost without our Chef/Mentor/Friend. Every single day was hard; constant questioning and indecisiveness clogged our minds, and the added stress and hard work didn't make it any easier. Can we make this work without Nick? Is this what he would've wanted? Am I a bad person if I feel that I want to leave sometimes? The best part of our journey has been the recent discovery of the real reason we decided to move forward– simply put; people like it. They simply rave about us; our pizza, our story, all of it. It gives us this drive and motivation that all chefs and cooks know when people love your work. If we can provide people good quality food within a good environment and make people happy, then why stop? In the end, that's what Nick intended for us, whether it's through Observation Pizza or somewhere else. We realized that we needed to work for ourselves, our own personal reasons, to move forward with this business, and not just for Nick.