The owners, Jullian Ordas, Adam Warshaw, Ugo Nnodu and Farzad Fatemi, set out to provide a warm and welcoming environment for community members and provide a dining option to families in what they felt is an underserved community.
The background
Kari Ordas, general manager and wife of co-owner Jullian Ordas, said she and her husband have lived in the Miramonte neighborhood for over 12 years, and there wasn't a restaurant nearby.
“My husband and I had talked for a long time about trying to do something, and we were torn between a lunch and brunch spot,” she said. “But he’s from New York, so he really wanted to do pizza and have a bar.”
The pizza parlor’s name takes inspiration from other businesses in the area, Kari said.
“The phase was coined when Omni and PGA came to Frisco; they called what would happen to the surrounding area the ‘halo effect,’”she said. “And so we were hoping to bring the same halo effect to our neighborhood.”
What’s special about it?
Kari said everything from the pizza dough to the sauces is made in house. Because water is an important part of making pizza dough, Kari said they hired a water softener expert to replicate the pH balance of New York water.
“It makes a huge difference,” she said. “When we were playing with dough, it changed it significantly.”
To foster a sense of community, standard pizzas such as cheese, pepperoni or Hawaiian pizzas, are named after streets in the neighborhood. Specialty pizzas are named after nearby schools in Frisco and Prosper ISD.
In addition, Warshaw said the restaurant plans to hold community events and donate to several parent-teacher associations in nearby schools.
Ordas said they wanted to create a place where families could gather.
“We have a nice patio with corn hole,” Kari said. “It was really big for us to be able to have a place where the kids could come and eat, and parents could have a drink and not feel like their kids are going to make a mess.”
The restaurant opened April 12, and Kari said the reception has been positive, especially in the Miramonte neighborhood.
“They’ve been super supportive and backing of us,” she said. “Everyone’s been a big cheerleader for us.”
What’s on the menu?
In addition to pizza, the restaurant also offers salads, appetizers and dessert options.
- Salads
- Classic Caesar ($9.99)
- Goat cheese ($12.99)
- Walnut gorgonzola ($11.99)
- Appetizers
- Garlic knots ($6.99)
- Fried cheese puffs ($9.99)
- Pepperoni rolls ($9.99)
- Desserts
- Cannoli cream dip ($9.99)
- Tiramisu ($9.99)
- Nutella pie ($9.99)
11220 Panther Creek Parkway, Ste. 400
469-384-2267
www.halopizzeria.com
Hours: Weds.-Thurs. 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Sun.-Mon. 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Tues. closed;
