So much of FIRED PIZZA has been for us (Daniel and Sarah) about setting big goals and dreams for ourselves. Throughout our lives together, we have asked each other and ourselves “what’s the next big thing?” We set a goal this year to earn national recognition- both for our hard work and for OUR CITY. We competed amongst our Pizzeria Peers in the
@pizzatoday PIE AWARDS for Best Menu, Best Drink Program, and BEST PIZZERIA (West Coast). To submit for these awards, we created 3-minute videos demonstrating our business strengths and profits, our contributions to our community, and our dedication to our craft.
I’ve always believed that the true competition is with yourself- I am competing against the best version I believe I can become. I wanted to win this award because I wanted to bring recognition to the hard work of our team, and to highlight our community of Stockton for something great- something positive that people want to invest in, like we did.
We won for Best Beverage Program- which at first felt like we lost. I wanted to win the big award- the BEST PIZZERIA. I wanted that recognition. But after thinking about it- it’s fitting that we won the Best Beverage Program. So much of what we do here at FIRED is siloed into these categories- Daniel does this; Sarah does that. The bar is where we truly come together 50/50. We met at a bar (the old school way). We work best together at the bar- where our knowledge is equal and we can play off each other’s confidence and creativity. We are the underdogs- competing at a national level against our pizza peers for a beverage program with only a beer and wine license. And WE WON. Our first time competing and WE WON. We did not win the Best Pizza, which feels pretty on-brand for us too.
So, cheers to everyone who’s come and sat at our bar over the years, and those that will join us in the future. Thank you to
@sbfilmsca for creating such wonderful videos of us- I hope one day our future selves and families will enjoy seeing us at this little moment in time. Thank you to
@pizzatoday for recognizing us at our best. And thank you to this community, we will continue to be San Joaquin’s and the Nation’s LEAST FAVORITE PIZZA.
