Pie Tap founder and CEO Rich Hicks said the kind of pizza he ate with his young children made him feel lethargic, and if he knew that if he ever started a pizza restaurant, he wanted to do things differently.
“I wanted it to be uniquely differentiated, and we would be selling that Italian-style, artisan dough to Dallas,” Hicks said.
Hicks opened the first Pie Tap location in the Dallas Design District at 1212 Oak Lawn Ave., Dallas, in early August 2016, serving pizza with dough made from a 300-year-old sourdough starter. Ten years and six additional locations later, Pie Tap is still using its original dough recipe, Hicks said.
On the menu
Pie Tap’s menu includes pizza, pasta, sandwiches, salads and more. Hicks said he wanted to keep the food “really clean” and use simple, high-quality ingredients.
Popular menu items include:
- Prosciutto pizza, which is made with prosciutto, Medjool dates, date sauce, pistachios, arugula, house ricotta, Parmesan and balsamic
- Hot pepperoni pizza, which features pepperoni, bacon, organic marinara sauce, fresh mozzarella, jalapenos and hot honey
- Garlic rosemary bread puffs
- Workshop salad, made with mixed greens, calabrese salami, provolone, red onions, roasted peppers, bacon, olives, tomatoes, pepperoncini and balsamic vinaigrette
Pie Tap also offers craft cocktails, wine and beer. The Pineapple Habanero Margarita—which is made with Hornitos plata tequila, cointreau, pineapple habanero puree, pineapple juice and lime juice—is one of the most popular cocktails, Hicks said.
What makes it special
The pizza dough the Pie Tap team makes is what sets their pizza apart, Hicks said.
“The process of our dough is complicated and requires a really talented team, which we have built,” Hicks said. “We do all of our dough in each restaurant every day, and the discipline and commitment to do that every day for our guests, that was tough. But we're happy 10 years later to have stayed the course with our unique process.”
Celebrating a milestone
To celebrate the restaurant’s 10-year anniversary, guests can go to any Pie Tap location on Aug. 25 and get a signature pizza for $10 all day, Hicks said. In addition, restaurant staff members are randomly picking up customer tabs throughout the August through the Neighborhood Tab initiative, per a company news release.
Hicks said celebrating the 10th anniversary of Pie Tap is a “wonderful accomplishment.”
“It means a great deal because a lot of pizzerias and pizza concepts give up on this process because it is hard. So to be doing it for 10 years and providing a healthier, cleaner, more easily digestible pizza ... It's magical.”
- 2708 N. Henderson Ave., Dallas; 1212 Oak Lawn Ave., Dallas; 5100 Belt Line Road, Dallas; 1301 W. Magnolia Ave., Fort Worth; 4880 Eldorado Parkway, Frisco; 6701 Alma Road, McKinney; 1900 Preston Road, Plano
- www.pie-tap.com
