Pizzeria spins pies, gives back to area school

There are a lot of things going on at Southside Flying Pizza, from airborne pizza dough to colorful murals surrounding the building, but David Hatley, general manager of the restaurant, said the real show is the pizza.

"The brick oven and the shows of the cooks are big reasons why people come in here, but mostly, it's our pizza," Hatley said. "It's fantastic."

The pizzeria, which has been open for about seven years, makes its own Italian sausage, pizza sauces, salad dressings and gluten-free dough. Hatley said the pizzeria tries to get local ingredients whenever possible, and staff makes sure everything the shop gets is fresh.

Hatley, who had been in pizza delivery for 17 years, came to the pizzeria about four years ago and took the general manager position in February. Hatley said it is a team effort to deliver quality pizza, and each member of the team takes his or her job seriously.

"Our prep guy is kind of the heart of this place," Hatley said. "He's more important than me, really. He's been here since close to the beginning, and he's really, really particular. Our pizza guys, our cooks, it's an art what they do. The cooks are just about as important as anybody here. Everybody definitely has their very, very important role."

Participating in the community is something Hatley said is important to the restaurant and its staff.

"That's one of the major aspects of this town," he said. "We like our stuff that is local. We like our homegrown stuff, and it matters to people in this town."

Hatley said he is trying to put his own mark on the restaurant and generate more business. He wants to start a late-night special of a large, three-topping pizza for $12.99 after 9 p.m.

"We're just trying to make sure we're sending out quality food," he said. "Our pizza takes time and care."

The pizza

Southside Flying Pizza offers a variety of pizzas, from traditional, hand-tossed dough to gluten-free options. Customers can build their own or choose from a variety of specialty pies.

General Manager David Hatley said the most popular specialty pizza is the Southsider, which includes chopped pepperoni, Canadian bacon, sausage, red onions, bell peppers and mushrooms.

The salads

David Hatley said salads are another popular item at Southside Flying Pizza, and the most popular salad is probably the Greek salad.

"I just think there's a uniqueness to it, and all these different flavors complement themselves really well," he said.

The restaurant offers Caesar, house, spinach and Greek salads.

The community

Southside Flying Pizza donates 5 percent of all its Internet orders to the Texas School for the Deaf, which is located at 1102 S. Congress Ave. David Hately said the business has been donating to the school since about 2009, and children from the school painted the mural on the fence.

"This is our community," he said. "You're supposed to do that sort of stuff."

On the menu

Meat, fruit and vegetable toppings include pepperoni, Italian sausage, Canadian bacon, prosciutto, Roma tomatoes, Kalamata olives and sun-dried tomatoes—prices range from 50 cents per topping for a slice to $1.75 per topping for a large pizza

Appetizers include spinach artichoke dip, oven-baked chicken wings and garlic knots—prices range from $2.95 to $8.95.

Specialty pizzas include basil pesto and the Southsider—$15 medium, $17 large

2206 S. Congress Ave., 512-442-4246, www.southsideflyingpizza.com

• Mon.–Thu. 11 a.m.–11 p.m.,
• Fri.–Sat. 11 a.m.–midnight,
• Sun. noon–11 p.m.