Duo serves pies and pints in the Hill Country

Way out west—past the Y at Oak Hill and Circle Drive—is Fitzhugh Road, as good of an introduction to the Hill Country as can be found in southern Travis County.

Drive along the winding two-lane road for a few minutes and there, across the county line, the sign and dirt driveway of Stanley's Farmhouse Pizza appear.

Operating out of a building they built themselves, Mike Gatlin and Chad Nemec have been serving pizza and beer since October 2012.

They started the pizzeria to complement the property's other tenant, Jester King Craft Brewery, but now Stanley's has become a draw in its own right, Gatlin said.

"We are a destination place," Nemec said. "A lot of our customers are hanging out three to four hours and making an afternoon or evening of it."

In 2007, Nemec purchased the 200-acre Ceres Park farm from the Stanley family, who had owned it since 1898. Nemec welcomed Jester King onto the property in 2010, and the brewery opened its doors in January 2011.

In 2012, Gatlin and Nemec were looking to get out of the real estate business.

That summer, they built the pizza oven and restaurant and learned how to make pizza from Christian Bowers of Bola Pizza Wood Fired Catering.

From the beginning, Gatlin said he did not want to serve "plain old pizza." So the duo kept the menu simple, started with a three-day cold-fermented dough and let the ingredients dictate the menu.

Today visitors can sip beers out of Mason jars and sit at long picnic tables in a historic pavilion. A stage has been used for concerts and weddings.

Gatlin and Nemec plan for Stanley's to remain a weekends-only business. They hope to start a farmers market and recruit complementary businesses such artisan food and drink makers.

Pizza menu

The pizzeria is named after a bull that lived on the property. The pizzas are named after the bull's calves.

• Li'l Heifer: Mozzarella and red sauce ($11.25)
• Lana: Red sauce, mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, extra virgin olive oil ($12)
• Tina: Extra virgin olive oil, mozzarella, fontina, Parmigiano Reggiano, basil ($13)
• Ferdinand: Red sauce, Italian sausage, mozzarella, mushrooms, caramelized onions, calabrese chili oil ($13.75)
• Penelope: Red sauce, smoked speck, mozzarella, arugula, tomatoes, salt and pepper, extra virgin olive oil ($13.75)
• Beatrice: Garlic and shallot bchamel sauce, mozzarella, goat cheese, mushrooms, arugula, extra virgin olive oil ($14)
• Dexter: Red sauce, New Jersey pepperoni, Italian sausage, mozzarella, caramelized onion, calabria chiles ($14)
• Sparky: Red sauce, prosciutto, mozzarella, caramelized onions, truffle oil ($14)
• Sasha: Red sauce, Texas wild boar sausage from Broken Arrow Ranch, mozzarella, oven-roasted garlic, bell pepper ($14.75)
• Willie: Barbecue sauce, brisket, mozzarella, cheddar cheese, red onion, jalapeos, cilantro ($15.50)

Local ingredients

Stanley's Farmhouse Pizza works with LoGROcal, a sustainable farming venture that grows oyster mushrooms in a modified bomb shelter on the property, Stanley's co-owner Mike Gaitlin said.

LoGROcal uses spent beer grain and coffee grounds as a base to grow the mushrooms. The venture plans to grow the pizzeria's basil and arugula, Stanley's co-owner Chad Nemec added.

Nemec said growing their own ingredients is better for the community and allows Stanley's to not use a distributor. "It's nice to be able to go and pick it," he said.

Stanley's tries to find local or regional vendors—such as Pure Luck Farm and Dairy in Dripping Springs and Broken Arrow Ranch in Ingram—for its toppings.

Stanley's Farmhouse Pizza, 13187 Fitzhugh Road, 512-900-9079, https://stanleysfarmhousepizza.com, Twitter: @StanleysPizza, Hours: Fri. 5–9 p.m., Sat. 11:30 a.m.–4 p.m., Sun. 11:30 a.m.–3 p.m.