After months of mystery, the curtain has been lifted. A new pizzeria is now open in the location that previously housed Alexander’s Pizza, which closed its doors last summer after 23 years in business here. Owned and operated by Coronado locals Maggie and Dennis Holland, Fire + Fly Artisan Pizza is now open at the same location, 849 Orange Avenue.
The Hollands’ have the dough, the equipment, and all the required permits in place. There are just a few last minute touches to be made. “We hope to be open by next week,” Maggie Holland said. Once it does, Coronado residents will have a unique pizzeria to experience.
“Our pizzas are fast, tasty and affordable,” said Dennis Holland. Fast might be an understatement; it takes less than two minutes to cook one 11-inch pie in the restaurant’s high-temperature stone hearth oven, pictured above.
Diners will be able to select from a variety of toppings, including six cheeses (mozzarella, Parmesan, ricotta, Gorgonzola, feta and goat) and six meats (pepperoni, sausage, meatballs, bacon, chicken and ham). There will also be 19 vegetable toppings to choose from, including tomatoes, carrots, Brussels sprouts, artichokes, broccoli, onions and peppers. A selection of sauces will be offered, including classic red, olive oil and herb garlic, and drizzles bbq, buffalo and pesto. Gluten free dough is also available. The possible combinations seem endless.
For those who find themselves overwhelmed by the choices, there will be six set combinations to inspire. One recommended pie is topped with pepperoni, sausage, meatballs, mozzarella, and red sauce, while a second suggested version features pesto, chicken, roasted red peppers, mozzarella, arugula, olive oil.
‘On the Fly’ signatures pizzas will be priced at $7.95, while the ‘The Fly Solo’ (build your own) pizzas start at $5.95 for a cheese and sauce, $6.95 for one additional topping, $7.95 for up to 5 toppings, or $1 for each additional topping.
Beyond pizza, the menu also includes a choice of salads: mixed greens with a raspberry vinaigrette or classic Caesar. Chicken can be added to either salad option to make a complete meal. Drinks will include fountain beverages, sodas and a limited beer and wine selection. Dessert pizzas will include a Nutella & Banana option as well as S’mores and cinnamon sugar with icing.
While new to Coronado, the fast, casual, build-your-own concept is becoming a favorite of pizza lovers everywhere. Pioneered by James Markham, who founded MOD Pizza in Seattle in 2008, the idea has taken hold across the country. At last count there were five similar pizzerias throughout the San Diego area: Project Pie, Pie-ology, The Blaze and Pizza Station.
The Hollands visited all of them, tasted and took notes. “We saw things we liked and things we thought we could improve on,” Dennis Holland said. While the couple tinkered with the formula, they kept the key elements that make these pizzerias so popular: quality, affordability and speed — especially speed.
“We chose the name to emphasis that,” Dennis Holland said. They fire the pie and you can fly out the door with it in under five minutes. Because of the speed of service and the price, “it’s the perfect lunch option for high school kids or military personal, which have limits on their time,” Dennis Holland added.
This is not the couple’s first eatery. The have been in the franchise restaurant business for 12 years, but Fire + Fly is the first one they designed entirely on their own – from the interior design, to the menu, to the name.
“We thought it would be nice to have something of our own, in our home town,” Maggie Holland said.
While it can make for a quick lunch, Fire + Fly is also a good place to linger. Both indoor and outdoor seating is available. There is also customer parking in alley. The sleek, trendy interior, designed by Lawrence Solc, reflects the bold new style of pizzas being served there. It’s all brass, brick, reclaimed wood, and found objects. The lights, for example, came from an old building in the Gaslamp District, Solc said. The style fits in well with Coronado’s trendy, yet traditional sensibilities.
Like almost everything that happens here, there’s been some controversy surrounding Fire + Fly. Some have complained that Coronado doesn’t need a new pizzeria. What we really need, they say, is a takeout-style Chinese restaurant. Maggie Holland agrees completely. “There’s a market for it here,” she said. “We did look into to opening one, but we realized we didn’t know how to cook Chinese food.”
Fortunately, for local pizza lovers with a creative spirit or a short lunch break, the Holland family instead found a way to put a new spin on an old favorite.
Fire + Fly Artisan Pizza
849 Orange Avenue
Coronado, CA 92118
(619) 435-1712
