After nearly seven years, Homeslice Pizza is the community’s “Awesome Slice”

DURANGO, Colo. – In 2002, when the Missionary Ridge Fire broke out, Cory and Lynn Kitch were remodeling a little house on College Drive, preparing to open their new business, Homeslice Pizza.

The fire marched to Vallecito and ultimately burned their home to the ground. Shell-shocked, they thought about throwing in the proverbial towel on the business, but the out-pouring of community support was overwhelming, so they persevered. And, today, nearly seven years later, everyone is glad they did.

“It’s hard to believe it’s been that long,” said Lynn, admitting that she still thoroughly enjoys the business. “I attribute it to our local support and a great staff.”

Indeed, Homeslice is a little bit like the neighborhood tavern (where everyone knows your name). Located in the center of the historic residential district, fans of the freshly made pizzas (with more than 60 toppings), salads, sandwiches and more, regularly walk their dogs or ride bikes over. Even in the weaker economy, Homeslice has proven to be a destination, as patrons can still enjoy a slice of pizza and a drink for under $5 – and it’s a substantial piece of pizza.

The success of the business over the years has enabled the Kitchs to take “next steps,” and late last year they purchased the building, which was once, three generations past, the home of a loving Italian grandmother straight off the boat from Tuscany. Success has also forced a domino effect of changes – all to the benefit of Homeslice and its customers.

“The first thing we did was buy the electric cars,” said Cory of the small next generation vehicles that expanded Homeslice’s delivery area beyond immediate bicycle access. “Then we needed to make more pizzas.”

“And we had a bottleneck,” continued Lynn. “We could only cook so many pies in the old oven, so we really needed a bigger oven.”

And a bigger oven it is. With four decks that rotate, Homeslice is now able to bake 169 pizzas per hour, according to Cory.

“Before we could only produce 22, 23 pizzas an hour,” he said.

Though the new oven is only 8 inches larger than its predecessor, the installation necessitated a remodel of the kitchen. And, while they were at it, the Kitchs went ahead and reconfigured, repainted or rebuilt the remainder of the restaurant as well.

To enlarge the kitchen area, the front door was moved further west, and the scattered tables replaced with bench seating that stretches the length of the dining area, giving the room a more “open” feeling.

“In the kitchen they’ve got a lot more space,” said Lynn of the cooks. “They were really cute. They’d been so crammed in there for so long, the first couple of shifts (in the new space) all three of them were over on one side. When I asked them what they were doing, they said they weren’t used to being separated and that they missed each other.”

Now the staff has adapted comfortably to the space, which also includes a separate pick-up window and a more accessible window case of pizzas slices to go, plus a new walk-in cooler and storage area in the back. Colorful walls, new artwork and a festively decorated bathroom completed the remodel.

“When we reopened, the first customer who came in was a high school kid,” said Cory of a Homeslice regular. “It was funny. He stopped and looked around and said, ‘Homeslice? This is Awesome Slice.’”

“The high school kids came right back,” said Lynn, noting that Homeslice is a popular lunch destination. “They love the bench seat because they can all crowd around a couple of tables.”

Though pizza “joints” might be in ready supply, what continues to set Homeslice apart from the competition is the product. Cory had been in the restaurant business for some 15 years prior to opening, but, to his good fortune, his brothers both graduated from Johnson & Wales, the prestigious culinary academy, and helped develop the initial recipes. 

“And we still make everything from scratch,” said Lynn, who prior to opening Homeslice was director of nutritional services at Southwest Memorial Hospital in Cortez. “Our sauce, our dough…”

“We don’t use sugar in the dough or the sauce,” said Cory. “And you can tell they take the time to make the sauce correctly. You can tell they’re using good ingredients.”

“It’s all fresh,” echoed Lynn, stressing the use of locally grown or raised ingredients, with cans opened only for impossible-to-get toppings such as pineapple. “And the kids will tell you that the secret ingredient is love.”

With the ability to produce more pizzas, Homeslice recently purchased an additional (conventional) vehicle and expanded its delivery area north to 32^nd St. and up to the College. The electric cars, while energy efficient, couldn’t quite make it up the hill to The Fort, plus the Kitchs found that during cold weather, the batteries wouldn’t hold their charge.

“The electric cars are great,” said Lynn. “But in the winter, they’d do one delivery and have to come back and let it charge. We’re going to have to work on that for next winter.”

The Kitchs have long been proponents of renewable energy and local sustainability. With the exception of the contractor who came with the new oven, all labor on the remodel was contracted locally. Though they purchase Green Power through La Plata Electric, the long range plan is to install solar panels to charge the electric cars and supplement the refrigeration. A benefit of the new pizza oven is also its energy efficiency.

“We haven’t seen a super huge drop in our gas bill,” said Cory, noting that the new oven’s self-closing glass doors played into the equation. “We never had to turn on the heat before. We were opening the (old) oven door so often, it would heat the whole place.”

“We put that oven in and it was freezing in here, and we were like, ‘what is going on?’” said Lynn. “We will eventually see the (financial) return on the oven.”

The Kitchs also recently invested in a new point of sale system, allowing for further efficiencies and accounting. In the near future they’re looking forward to implementing an on-line ordering system for delivery, pick-up or dining in. Hungry customers need only to log onto www.homeslicedelivers.com, review the menu (which does regularly evolve) and place their order. A confirmation is sent at the same time the Homeslice kitchen receives the request.

Grateful for the support over the years, the Kitchs do generously “give back” to the community whenever possible, including donating some 30-40 pizzas a week to the Manna Soup Kitchen. If any slices are left in the display window at the end of the night, they’re boxed up for the soup kitchen as well.

“Pizza’s good cold,” said Cory, who is yet to grow tired of pizza and eats it every day, with really no preference on Homeslice’s extensive menu.

“When we’re on vacation, he has withdrawls,” said Lynn, only half in jest. “If we’ve got that 10 o’clock flight in, he’ll call from Denver and say, ‘save me some pizza.’”

To quote the Homeslice tagline, “Give Pizza Chance.”

Homeslice Pizza, 441 E. College, (259-5551) is open Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sundays noon until 7 p.m.

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