Hungry? Pie Five Pizza Co. Will Bake Your Pie in 140 Seconds

Rapidly expanding Pie Five Pizza Co. is coming straight outta the oven — and Texas — to a city near you.  

In the Lone Star state, Dallas-based Pie Five Pizza Co. is best-known for its made-to-order artisan pizzas that are guaranteed to be "finished in five" minutes — hence the name. In the next five years, the fast-casual pizza chain plans to develop as many as 400 new company-owned and franchise locations across the country, starting with South Florida.

Though guests can choose from more than a million combinations (yep, sounds crazy but apparently the math works out — we'll just trust them on that) using farm-fresh ingredients, artisan sauces, and handcrafted crusts, the real hook here is that the pies bake in just 140 seconds in the chain's custom-designed, state-of-the-art oven. 

"South Florida is attracting a lot of growth, and the fast-casual pizza market hasn't really hit there yet," says Jeffrey Parker, former second-generation McDonald's franchisee and franchise development partner with DP5 Investments. "We're excited to be the first to bring Pie Five's concept to the area. When looking at new fast-casual pizza ventures, options for consumers with food allergies was very important to me. Many [similar] brands don't offer these options."

Superfast, build-your-own pizza isn't completely alien to South Florida, however. The concept is similar to Flash Fire Pizza, a local fast-casual concept that recently opened in Fort Lauderdale. It even offesr a number of diet-friendly and health-conscious options like gluten-free dough, hormone-free chicken, local organic vegetables, and GMO-free greens as well as locally sourced cured meats.

Another local chain, Pizza Fusion, was the first to pioneer the idea of gluten-free pizza crusts in South Florida, back before it was trendy. And chain resto Mellow Mushroom is also known to serve a mean gluten-free pie.

Still, when it comes to fast-casual pizza, the more the merrier. Back at Pie Five, customers can add one of the freshly tossed hand-made salads served in a baked pizza dough bowl — because, of course —  to any meal.  

According to a news release, the fast-casual pizza chain plans to open to 28 restaurants from Melbourne south to Miami. In less than four years, Pie Five has grown from its first Dallas location to more than 60, and plans for South Florida will begin with four franchise restaurants, slated for Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Wellington, and West Palm Beach.

Pie Five's South Florida development will launch alongside similar multi-unit plans recently announced for New Mexico, Missouri, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Colorado, Kentucky, and Indiana. This is in addition to a company-owned expansion in Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, and Dallas. Visit piefivepizza.com.

Nicole Danna is a food writer covering Broward and Palm Beach counties. To get the latest in food and drink news in South Florida, follow her @SoFloNicole or find her latest food pics on the BPB New Times Food & Drink Instagram.