Bagby Pizza Company Update

Targeted Opening Date is October 1st, 2009

Well, I dragged myself out of bed and went straight to the Harbor East Farmers Market to pick up our CSA share of food and then went over to get a closer look at Bagby Pizza Company. I ended up getting a peek both outside and inside of the upcoming pizzeria.

Entrance and construction at Bagby Pizza Company

After being allowed to come inside, I ended up having a brief talk with Kyle, former chef at Sotto Sopra, who will be handling the cooking duties at Bagby Pizza Company, as well as meeting owners Blake and David Smith. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming and I hope they do well with their new venture.

(more information about Bagby and pictures after the page jump)

Interior construction at Bagby Pizza Company

From my brief talk with Kyle, here is some information I gathered:

• Opening date is projected to be October 1st, 2009
• They initially wanted to utilize a coal fired oven, but Baltimore City would not issue a permit for one. This may be a relatively new development in Baltimore City, as Joe Edwardsen mentioned there were not many obstacles installing a coal fired oven in Baltimore during my interview with him in May.
• Kyle mentioned they will be using Molino Caputo 00 Flour to formulate their pizza dough.
• Higher end toppings will be utilized, such a Sopresatta Picante instead of pepperoni. Sopressate Picante is going to make people forget pepperoni and is a favored ingredient of Paulie Gee (amusingly, if you Google Sopressata Picante, his pizza picture is the first link).
• Local ingredients, including ingredients sourced from nearby farmers markets, will be used when in season
• Local artists will be allowed to display their artwork on the walls. The artwork will be available for purchase and the displays will rotate from time to time, similar to Zella’s Pizzeria in SoWeBo (I’m sorely due for another visit to Zella’s).
• Much of the wood used at the counter area and on the large communal bench (see pictures below) is reclaimed wood from farms in the Frederick, Maryland area.
• The nice stone/slate floored outdoor area between Bagby Pizza Company and the Dutch Connection will be utilized for outdoor seating.
• Text messaging will be utilized to alert people to specials, happy hours and other events at Bagby Pizza Company (see picture of poster below). A great use of technology!

Long bench of reclaimed wood from farms in the Frederick area and a poster for the text message centered Gourmet Pizza Text Club

Now, onto the oven. As mentioned above, a coal fired oven was the first choice, but the City of Baltimore would not allow it. All I can say to that is poo poo on you, Baltimore City! An Il Forno Classico Double Stacked Gas Fired Old World Brick Oven by Baker’s Pridewill handle the cooking duties for not only the pizzas, but Kyle informed me they will be roasting vegetables in the oven as well, ala the oven roasted red peppers at Grimaldi’s. Interestingly, the gas lines needed to fuel the oven have to be run under Fleet Street from Whole Foods Market.

I’m looking forward to having another pizzeria here in Baltimore and the owners and chef couldn’t have been more welcoming, especially when considering they were in the middle of construction. Lots of luck the rest of the way and I’ll be there for pizza very soon! Rest assured I will not post an official review until after Bagby Pizza Company is open for several weeks and has had time to work out any kinks. You’ll get the honest, unbiased review of the wares at Bagby right here. Stay tuned……

BTW, Bagby Pizza Company is hiring. You can see the link with more information at the bottom of yesterday’s initial post about Bagby here.

Il Forno Classico oven at Bagby Pizza Company