Classic pies at the pizza spot include the Margherita pizza ($25.99), which can be served on a gluten-free 14-inch crust. (Katlynn Fox/Community Impact)
A few doors down from Mama Betty’s Tex-Mex on Parmer Lane, dynamic duo Jason Carrier and Forrest Higdon opened Happy Slice Pizza last October, serving specialty pizzas, baked fornatas, salads, desserts and a full drink menu.
The backstory
For business owners Carrier and Higdon, their journeys in the restaurant industry began long before they collaborated over a healthier kind of pizza in Austin.
Higdon spent the last 16 years specializing in pizza at Gumby’s Pizza in San Marcos, which opened in 2009. Following his experience as a restaurant owner, he shared advice with Carrier, his neighbor, who opened Mama Betty’s Tex-Mex in 2022.
Three years later, owners of 600 Degrees Austin approached the pair about buying the restaurant, and they jumped into action—going from neighbors to business partners.
“Being next door [at] Mama Betty's ... we're already here, so it made sense 150 feet away to sign another lease and start doing pizza with my neighbor,” Carrier said.
From being neighbors, to talking shop about their respective resturants, Forrest Higdon, left, and Jason Carrier are now co-owners of Happy Slice Pizza on Parmer Lane in Austin. (Courtesy Happy Slice Pizza)
Craving pizza?
One of the most popular specialty pizzas at Happy Slice is inspired by Carrier’s Tex-Mex restaurant. Known as the Barbacoa Betty, the pie is served with Mama Betty’s barbacoa, diced onions, cilantro, jalapeno crema and adobo sauce.
Another bestseller is the Sweet Heat, which features traditional and cupping pepperoni with sweet ricotta, basil, hot honey and red sauce.
What’s special about it?
“When I had the opportunity to start over and just do a pizza place like I would want now, it was about the better ingredients,” Higdon said.
Happy Slice dough is made with unbleached and unbromated flour, cellulose-free cheese and no artificial citric acid in the tomato sauce. The menu also offers gluten and dairy-free options for people with dietary restrictions.
“I want ... people that are gluten-free or dairy-free to not feel like we're having to make exceptions for them—they get the same experience that everyone else gets,” Hidgeon said.
Happy Slice Pizza is also the first pizza restaurant in Texas to serve the San Nicola tomatoes in its sauce. Previously, the sauce was exclusively made for restaurants on the East Coast, until the company opened up a second line of capacity, Hidgeon explained.
Happy Slice Pizza was designed as a space where people celebrate life, according to co-owner Forrest Higdon. (Katlynn Fox/Community Impact)
A family affair
The pair crafted Happy Slice with the intention of creating a welcoming, family-friendly environment—one that the two often enjoy on their own time.
“I think what has made Happy Slice work is that we're building the place that we would want to take our families to,” Higdon said. “It's just an extension of our neighborhood and our house.”
The restaurant includes an outdoor patio with fans, TVs, tables and turf to make a relaxing and comfortable space. Happy Slice hosts neighborhood parties, birthdays and team sports celebrations.
In addition to pizza, Happy Slice also offers an array of cocktails, such as the Porch Swing, which features vodka, house fresh strawberry and hibiscus soda and mint ($10). (Courtesy Happy Slice Pizza)
In their own words
“We're very grateful that people choose to hang out with us,” Carrier said. “There's a lot of pizza in Austin. There's a lot of places that people can go eat. When you realize someone chose us to spend their hard-earned money on a cherished Friday night, that's pretty flattering, and you want to make the environment and experience as great as it can be for them.”
