Free pizza? In Shawano? It happened.
Free pizza was the ticket May 15 at Stubborn Brothers Brewery to help choose the cheese that will be featured on the pies at Stubborn Slice, the new venture of Erik and Aaron Gilling, owners of Stubborn Brothers.
Classic Neapolitan style pizza and thin crust pizzas will be on the menu.
Neapolitan pizza originated in Naples, Italy. It has a thin dough with high edges. A few simple, quality ingredients are typically featured, rather than heavy toppings.
Three slices of pizza were offered to each customer at the tasting, along with a rating sheet.
Customers were encouraged to focus on the qualities of the cheese. Aaron Gilling said that the crust and sauce were not what they would be making their pizzas with.
Customers rated the three cheeses on a scale of one to five, with five being the best. The brands of the cheeses weren’t revealed, so the raters would focus only on the taste and consistency.
The results of the tasting haven’t been revealed.
The Gillings don’t have an opening date yet for Stubborn Slice.
“We are waiting for approval from the state of Wisconsin,” Gilling said. “We are constantly working on improving and getting ready to open.”
Lily Miller was hired by the Gillings to develop their pizza offerings.
“She went to Pizza University in Maryland and another program as well to really dial in on making pizza,” Gilling said. “She’s an amazing and talented part of our team.”
He said that she is dedicated to making the best pizza around.
Pizza University is a pizza school that helps passionate cooks learn how to create, innovate and learn about the world of pizza.
Miller chose most of the equipment that will be used at Stubborn Slice, such as a special oven that operates with gas and wood fire.
“She’s been really amazing in doing this,” Gilling said.
It was Miller’s idea to do the cheese tasting, to try out a few different cheeses and get people’s feedback.
“Sometimes you think that this is the best product, but there’s also a thing about it being specific to where you live, your regional area,” Gilling said.
According to Gilling, there are cheeses in Italy that aren’t popular here. He’s committed to having the best cheese for the local taste.
Stubborn Slice will be in the old Reinhold Shoe Store, right next to the Stubborn Brothers Brewery at 220 S. Main St. in Shawano. Plans are to do carryout, with very limited sit-down.
“We’re trying to treat it as a separate business,” Gilling said. “Our goal is, if we expand and open up more breweries, we don’t know if we’re going to do our full menu at other locations.”
He said that they would probably focus on their pizzas if they go to other locations.
Gilling said that Shawano has a number of pizzerias in town and noted specifically how their friends at Luigi’s do a great job.
“I can’t give anything but compliments about Luigi’s,” he said.
Stubborn Slice’s classic Neapolitan pizzas and classic thin cracker crust pizzas aren’t offered anywhere in the Shawano area. Eventually, once the pizzas are perfected and the restaurant is open, Stubborn Slice plans to also offer bagels.
“Pizza, bagels and the salad bar are the goal,” Gilling said. “There are more things that we are working on, also.”
Taste testing of sauces and crusts are planned for the future. Announcements will be made on the Stubborn Brothers Facebook page.
“I’m a big believer in that if you want to see change in the world, be the change that you want to see,” Gilling said.
Aaron Gilling, co-owner of Stubborn Brothers Brewery, stands with Julie and Tyler Schmidt as they conclude their ratings of cheeses offered on free pizza slices at brewery. Free pizza slices were offered to customers to help choose which cheese will be used on the Neapolitan and thin cracker pizzas at Stubborn Slice. (Lynn Zaffrann)
