By Cynthia Gellis
Speak Cheezy opened this past April at the corner of 4th and Termino Avenue. Fortunately, unlike the speakeasys of the Prohibition Era, you don’t need to know the secret word to get one of their signature sourdough crust pizzas.
Fremont Elementary Dad and Chef Jason Winters had been looking for the right location to open a permanent outpost for his mobile, gourmet pizza business. When the space that had been Scratch Bakery became available, he knew he had found the perfect spot. Before he got into the pizza business 10 years ago, Jason was executive chef at L’Opera in downtown Long Beach.
Rather than a big grand opening, Speak Cheezy has been slowly rolling out new offerings. To prevent being swamped when they first opened, they only took walk-in orders, eventually expanding to phone and online ordering.
Over the summer, Speak Cheezy rolled out delivery in a way that melds the catering and restaurant sides of the business. The delivery truck has a pizza oven built into the back – when you order a pizza for delivery, they take the pizza out to you, top it onsite, put it in the oven, and you get a fresh, piping hot pizza.
A busy dad, Jason knows how hectic it can be to pick kids up from school and get
them fed before dropping them off at their after-school activities. So before school gets started this fall, Speak Cheezy will begin opening earlier and offering pizza by the slice.
His experience is evident in the attention that goes into sourcing and making high-quality, fresh ingredients like Speak Cheezy’s signature sourdough crust. The dough is “born” 5 days before it becomes pizza crust, giving it time to naturally ferment and develop its signature flavor. The mozzarella is hand-stretched in-house and vegetables are sourced from farmers markets.
Although their best-selling pizza is cheese, their specialty pies highlight Jason’s creativity – whether it’s the Tie Die with crushed tomatoes, pesto, shredded mozzarella, and purple basil or the Brooklyn Bee with spicy calabrese salami and house-made Fresno chili honey.
To stay up-to-date on the latest offerings, follow @Speak_Cheezy on Instagram or see the website at www.speak-cheezy.com. Orders are available at (562)343-2827, Wednesday-Sunday, 12:00-9:00pm (slices from noon to 4:00 pm)