Comfort Food on a Pizza Crust

by nate on 05/17/10 at 4:38 pm

Comfort Food on a Pizza Crust
Ian Gurfield has found his niche in the crowded world of pizzerias. As the owner/managing partner of Ian’s Pizza by the Slice, Ian has come up with a winning combination of flavors that has his customers coming back for more. But, if not for a few demographics that fell neatly into place, Madison might not have been Ian’s first choice to open the restaurant that bears his name.
While in college at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Ian met a family of restaurant owners who introduced him to the business. It was through this contact that Ian decided he wanted to do something entrepreneurial after he graduated, and he determined that opening a pizza restaurant was his goal. And as the saying goes, “location, location, location,” Ian wanted just the right one to launch his brand of pizza.
“I developed research criteria that included demographics such as an active student body, the psychographics of the community such as their attitudes, opinions, and behaviors, as well as the weather all played a role in whether the city was included on my list,” explains Ian. He also wanted a college crowd that had an active after-bar-time appetite.
He found over 100 college communities that fit most of his criteria, and was able to pare the list down to 70. Ian’s college advisor suggested that he take a road trip to visit each place to gain more knowledge about the community. So, over the course of 18 months, Ian drove 10,500 miles from New York City to Seattle, San Diego, Santa Fe, Boulder, and points in between to visit 50 locations. Because a friend of one of his college roommates attended the University of Wisconsin, Ian visited Madison in January 2000.
“Madison has a really good vibe, and that it put toward the top of the list. I liked the way the university and the downtown blended together, and felt that the university has a stronger presence in the cultural fabric,” Ian says. He also mentions that he was concerned that during the winter no one would go out for pizza, but soon realized people still go out even during bad weather. If he hadn’t settled in Madison, Bloomington, Indiana would be savoring Ian’s pizzas.
Ian’s Pizza by the Slice opened on October 31, 2001 just down the street from the Kohl Center. “This location was the very first spot I saw, but I thought that I wanted to be on State Street, so I didn’t take it right away,” says Ian. He fulfilled his wish to be on State Street when he opened a second location on February 15, 2005 at 115 State Street.
Ian was interested in offering unique pizza selections based on comfort foods, and he shares, “Madison struck me as a place that would embrace Macaroni and Cheese pizza.” And they have—it’s his number one selling pizza with elbow macaroni, mozzarella, and cheddar baked on a thick Sicilian style crust. Other comfort food varieties include chicken pot pie, Philly cheese steak, and BBQ steak and fries pizza. A lengthy list of other unique pizzas (including many vegetarian selections) make up the menu.
“We are constantly trying new recipes. When we first opened there were a lot of slices that failed spectacularly, including chicken noodle soup and anything with sweet potatoes or Swiss chard. We’ve had a lot of requests for Asian inspired flavored pizzas, but everything we’ve tried has flopped. The thing is to consistently keep trying,” Ian says.
Pizza by the slice or whole 12- or 20-inch pies can be ordered at the counter or for delivery in the campus area. With a thriving delivery business, Ian moved this “piece of the pie” to theState Street location. Delivery manager Lexy Frautschy took over delivery, and in Ian’s words is “doing a bang-up job. Delivery is something that takes a lot of time and energy, and you have to do it right; so it makes sense to have a delivery manager.”
Ian isn’t content to let pizza dough rest for long. He’s hired Cindy Gross, a food mastermind who attended the New England Culinary Institute in Vermont and has worked at L’Etoile restaurant. “Cindy is passionate about using local produce and sourcing foods locally. We are trying to follow the lead of other restaurants by using local farmers and the REAP program.” They’ve been successful in developing relationships with local farmers, including Old Growth Ideas, Fountain Prairie Farms, Gerald Pratt, Jones Family Farm, The Apple Orchard, and Hook’s Cheese.
Another addition to the menu is brownies—freshly baked in-house using a recipe developed by Ian and his staff. “We’ve been experimenting with different recipes since last September and finally found the right combination,” says Ian. The brownies are made with real butter and Belgian chocolate.
Ian graduated with a degree in philosophy and economics, and is putting it to good use. He runs the business by using open-book financing, which means he shares the financial performance of the business with his staff. He explains, “the idea behind it is, if you don’t know what the score is, how do you know if you are winning or losing? It’s important to train employees to think like business owners. When the business does well, the team wins.” Ian is creating employee ownership opportunities in other locations which will be spearheaded by employees who have proven themselves to move to a management position.
Ian utilizes the training and consulting program for restaurant owners that Zingerman’s Deli in Ann Arbor offers. He also credits local Madison restaurant owners who have served as mentors to him. He adds, “We are so lucky to have so much talent here in Madison.”

As featured in the May 2008 issue of Madison Originals Magazine.

Ian Gurfield has found his niche in the crowded world of pizzerias. As the owner/managing partner of Ian’s Pizza by the Slice, Ian has come up with a winning combination of flavors that has his customers coming back for more. But, if not for a few demographics that fell neatly into place, Madison might not have been Ian’s first choice to open the restaurant that bears his name.

While in college at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Ian met a family of restaurant owners who introduced him to the business. It was through this contact that Ian decided he wanted to do something entrepreneurial after he graduated, and he determined that opening a pizza restaurant was his goal. And as the saying goes, “location, location, location,” Ian wanted just the right one to launch his brand of pizza.

“I developed research criteria that included demographics such as an active student body, the psychographics of the community such as their attitudes, opinions, and behaviors, as well as the weather all played a role in whether the city was included on my list,” explains Ian. He also wanted a college crowd that had an active after-bar-time appetite.

He found over 100 college communities that fit most of his criteria, and was able to pare the list down to 70. Ian’s college advisor suggested that he take a road trip to visit each place to gain more knowledge about the community. So, over the course of 18 months, Ian drove 10,500 miles from New York City to Seattle, San Diego, Santa Fe, Boulder, and points in between to visit 50 locations. Because a friend of one of his college roommates attended the University of Wisconsin, Ian visited Madison in January 2000.

“Madison has a really good vibe, and that it put toward the top of the list. I liked the way the university and the downtown blended together, and felt that the university has a stronger presence in the cultural fabric,” Ian says. He also mentions that he was concerned that during the winter no one would go out for pizza, but soon realized people still go out even during bad weather. If he hadn’t settled in Madison, Bloomington, Indiana would be savoring Ian’s pizzas.

Ian’s Pizza by the Slice opened on October 31, 2001 just down the street from the Kohl Center. “This location was the very first spot I saw, but I thought that I wanted to be on State Street, so I didn’t take it right away,” says Ian. He fulfilled his wish to be on State Street when he opened a second location on February 15, 2005 at 115 State Street.

Ian was interested in offering unique pizza selections based on comfort foods, and he shares, “Madison struck me as a place that would embrace Macaroni and Cheese pizza.” And they have—it’s his number one selling pizza with elbow macaroni, mozzarella, and cheddar baked on a thick Sicilian style crust. Other comfort food varieties include chicken pot pie, Philly cheese steak, and BBQ steak and fries pizza. A lengthy list of other unique pizzas (including many vegetarian selections) make up the menu.

“We are constantly trying new recipes. When we first opened there were a lot of slices that failed spectacularly, including chicken noodle soup and anything with sweet potatoes or Swiss chard. We’ve had a lot of requests for Asian inspired flavored pizzas, but everything we’ve tried has flopped. The thing is to consistently keep trying,” Ian says.

Pizza by the slice or whole 12- or 20-inch pies can be ordered at the counter or for delivery in the campus area. With a thriving delivery business, Ian moved this “piece of the pie” to theState Street location. Delivery manager Lexy Frautschy took over delivery, and in Ian’s words is “doing a bang-up job. Delivery is something that takes a lot of time and energy, and you have to do it right; so it makes sense to have a delivery manager.”

Ian isn’t content to let pizza dough rest for long. He’s hired Cindy Gross, a food mastermind who attended the New England Culinary Institute in Vermont and has worked at L’Etoile restaurant. “Cindy is passionate about using local produce and sourcing foods locally. We are trying to follow the lead of other restaurants by using local farmers and the REAP program.” They’ve been successful in developing relationships with local farmers, including Old Growth Ideas, Fountain Prairie Farms, Gerald Pratt, Jones Family Farm, The Apple Orchard, and Hook’s Cheese.

Another addition to the menu is brownies—freshly baked in-house using a recipe developed by Ian and his staff. “We’ve been experimenting with different recipes since last September and finally found the right combination,” says Ian. The brownies are made with real butter and Belgian chocolate.

Ian graduated with a degree in philosophy and economics, and is putting it to good use. He runs the business by using open-book financing, which means he shares the financial performance of the business with his staff. He explains, “the idea behind it is, if you don’t know what the score is, how do you know if you are winning or losing? It’s important to train employees to think like business owners. When the business does well, the team wins.” Ian is creating employee ownership opportunities in other locations which will be spearheaded by employees who have proven themselves to move to a management position.

Ian utilizes the training and consulting program for restaurant owners that Zingerman’s Deli in Ann Arbor offers. He also credits local Madison restaurant owners who have served as mentors to him. He adds, “We are so lucky to have so much talent here in Madison.”

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