SPIN! Neapolitan Pizza is answering the plea for pineapple on its pizzas. Dubbed the “Pineapple Project”, SPIN! is adding roasted caramelized pineapple as a topping, a new BBQ di Pollo e Pineapple pizza to its menu, and a different pineapple pizza each week all summer in its home market. Developed with James Beard Award-winning chef Michael Smith, the BBQ di Pollo e Pineapple pizza uses two varieties of barbecue sauce to achieve its rich, tangy flavor.
“Let’s face it, you don’t see much pineapple or barbecue sauce on pizzas in Italy,” says Gail Lozoff, SPIN! co-owner. “We have always been, and still are, committed to serving pizzas that translate traditional Neapolitan flavors into American dining. It took us a long time to cave in to guest requests for pineapple. Once we caved, chef Michael Smith insisted that its best flavor match was barbecue sauce. So here we are, making a big deal about barbecue sauce and pineapple and having fun with the ‘Pineapple Project’.”
In its barbecue capital hometown of Kansas City, where SPIN! has five locations and a sixth under construction, SPIN! turned to two local icons for barbecue sauces that combine to create the BBQ di Pollo e Pineapple pizza. SPIN!’s hand spun thin-and-bubbly crust is topped with crushed roma tomatoes mixed with Gates Bar-B-Q Original Sauce, caramelized onions, roasted pineapple, fresh mozzarella, and oven-roasted chicken tossed in the Roasterie's Super Tuscan Coffee BBQ Sauce.
In southern California, where Hofman Hospitality Group (HHG) recently opened SPIN!’s first franchise in the City of Orange, the BBQ di Pollo e Pineapple pizza is made with Lucille's Smokehouse’s Original Bar-B-Que Sauce and its Hot and Spicy Bar-B-Que Sauce. The fit is a natural given that HHG, which has completed a franchise agreement to open 37 SPIN! restaurants throughout southern California, also founded and operates 17 Lucille’s Smokehouse Bar-B-Que locations in California, Arizona, and Nevada.
In addition to introducing BBQ di Pollo e Pineapple Pizza, SPIN! recommends the addition of pineapple on its Prosciutto e Spinaci (Italian ham, spinach, and roasted fig onion marmalade) pizza and offers hearth-roasted caramelized pineapple as an optional topping for other pizzas.
In Kansas City, SPIN! also will offer a new pineapple pizza each week throughout the summer. Weekly “Pineapple Project “ pizzas will range from a bianca (white) pizza featuring potato, goat cheese, and pineapple on a crust brushed with garlic roasted olive oil glaze to a rossa (red crushed roma tomato base) pizza generously covered in sausage and pineapple.
SPIN! is encouraging guests to send in their ideas for pizza combinations that include roasted pineapple. As photos with the hashtag #pineappleproject post on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, SPIN! will share them among the social media sites.
In addition to introducing pineapple to the menu, a retired guest favorite is returning. The Greco pizza is making a comeback with its Greek-influenced roasted red peppers, spinach, kalamata olives, and feta cheese.
The Greco and pineapple pizzas are part of SPIN!’s wide variety of affordable, hand-spun, stone-fired, traditional thin-and-bubbly crust, rustic whole wheat crust, and gluten-free pizzas.
SPIN!’s pizza dough is made fresh every day using several types of flour including one imported from Italy. All the toppings are roasted in stone hearth ovens each day, including mushrooms, caramelized onions, artichokes, capers, and even pecans, pine nuts, pancetta, and now pineapple. Many of the cheeses are hand grated.
Known for its exceptional artisan food made from fresh ingredients without the gourmet price, SPIN! also offers a variety of appetizers, soups, salads, signature Panini and Italian deli sandwiches, and gelato. All of SPIN!’s soups, salad dressings, pizza toppings, and ingredients are prepared fresh daily from fresh produce and meats.
SPIN! Neapolitan Pizza, which has won numerous national and local awards for its food and premium fast-casual concept, also is known for its rotating roster of premium wines priced well below traditional restaurant prices. The beverage selection includes white, red, and blood orange sangrias and craft beers.
Founded in Kansas City in 2005, SPIN! is owned and operated by Gail and Richard Lozoff and Edwin Brownell, who are experienced in large multi-unit expansion, franchising, and operations.
