Lucky Slice Pizza has been promoting “Peace. Love. Pizza.” on Historic 25th Street in Ogden since February of 2012. With a Cordon Bleu-trained chef, they’re throwing down anything but plain ol’ crust and sauce. Of course, they have the classics–cheese and pepperoni–but it’s specials such as the Margherita Supreme and the Dub All Star that keep people coming back for more. Both ‘zas feature the shop’s signature thin crust.
My personal favorite is the Fire Island, with white sauce, capicola, jalapeno, caramelized onions, pineapple, and mozzarella. Consider it the adult version of the classic Hawaiian. A close second is the Thai Slaw Salad.
Lucky Slice has a lot of presence with the skate and snowboard crowd, a natural draw for the owners who moved to Utah in search of good powder. “Mike and I came to Northern Utah from Flagstaff, chasing snow, and then we met our third partner, Will, who is a Utah native from Plain City,” says co-owner Nick Van Arsdale.
But it’s not just the young kids and powder-seekers who are loving the Slice. “Everybody eats pizza,” says Nick. When I ask him who their primary demographic is, “basically anyone under 55, and even that’s not really a good cutoff.”
Why pizza? “It sounds cheesy, but growing up skateboarding, pizza was always there for us. It was the cheap and easy thing.” Nick had a job as a delivery driver back in Flagstaff. “Pizza has always had a place in our crew. It was always a fallback as a place to meet as friends, but it also became a place for us to work together as friends.”
After working with another restaurant closer to North Ogden that failed, the three partners decided to open a pizza shop of their own. Lucky Slice’s first location on Historic 25th took off immediately. With the tagline, “Peace. Love. Pizza.” Nick tells me it’s all about the closeness of hanging out with your friends.” They have been guided by the belief that you should “love who you’re working with, and enjoy what you’re doing. Pizza just brings it all together.”
It’s a copacetic concept. “We’ve been surprised by our quick success and really proud of our Ogden community; more than anything, we want to be a community player as well as a place for food.” That’s not a statement Nick throws around lightly. For the past year, he’s served as Marketing Chair for the Historic 25th Street Association, attended City Council sessions, and worked with up-and-coming business owners to find ways to partner and expand. They’re active with the Ogden Young Professionals group and are constantly seeking out new partnerships with local nonprofits.
Lucky Slice partners with a different nonprofit each month. This past month, they supported the Junior League of Ogden by giving 20 percent of all sales on a set day to the League. Their November partner is Nurture the Creative Mind, a nonprofit housed on the same street as Lucky Slice’s flagship storefront.
An additional location was opened at Powder Mountain in the winter of 2013, less than a year after the first location, and a new, full-size shop is coming to in Layton in January of 2015. Slices are also available at home games for the Raptors and Ogden Mustangs.
Before you go, be sure to brush up on your trivia knowledge. You’ll get extra punches if you get their daily trivia question correct. Ten punches and that’s a free slice! §
The 25th Street location is open 7 days a week, Sunday through Thursday 11 am – 10 pm, Fridays and Saturdays 11 am – 2 am. They are available for catering and private parties.
