Penchant for pies

WASILLA — The restaurant business can be full of ups and downs — and second chances. Jonathan Ashburn has seen a little of it all, and having the opportunity to start over has been a big step.

Ashburn, along with his wife Haley, owns Knik Pizza, which has returned from an almost eight-year hiatus and is now open in the Subway building at 224 N. Yenlo St. in Wasilla.

The takeaway and delivery-only pizza shop began filling orders Oct. 5, and they were slammed, Jonathan said, after moving to the remodeled new location in mid-September.

“I think we sold $1,500 worth of food in a three-hour period,” Ashburn said last week. “It got a little wild.”

Along with traditional pizza favorites like pepperoni and the Hawaiian, Ashburn said the Greek is a big seller. The shop also offers sub sandwiches, calzones, breadsticks, salads and wings. He added that an expansion into dessert pizzas was in the works.

The return to the business is definitely a second chance, Ashburn said. He was part of the original Knik Pizza near Mile 3.5 of Knik-Goose Bay Road that closed in 2008.

“I was in business 10 years ago, in my 20s, and that was another life,” Ashburn said last week during a steady lunch rush. “I had a second chance to do it and do it right and everything has helped me to make it better. We just want to provide the best.”

Jonathan and Haley married two years ago and decided to revive the business. Jonathan had bought into the recipe — a New York style sweet dough — and in June the couple opened in the Wasilla City Center off Knik-Goose Bay Road. There, they shared space with the Alaska Cheesecake Co., a location that proved to be somewhat problematic, Jonathan said.

“We just didn’t have the power — there wasn’t enough for our operation,” Ashburn said of the building’s electrical supply. “We wish those folks there (at the cheesecake company) the best, but it didn’t work out. Besides, we’re loud — it’s a pizza kitchen,” he added, which didn’t always quite match with customers trying to decide on a dessert.

The Yenlo location required a substantial remodel, Ashburn said, which was complete in 3 ½ weeks.

Now, Ashburn and the family’s core business crew — Haley and 17-year-old son Dakota — have room to expand. A larger oven is already on the wish list. There’s even space for the couple’s 1-year-old daughter Eleanor to hang out during the day.

Haley, a former case manager for clients with disabilities, said the restaurant experience was a new one.

“It has definitely been an interesting ride,” she said. “It is totally different managing people and customers.”

Jonathan said one if the biggest challenges during the lunch and dinner rush is in the prep. The stone-slate oven can hold six larges, which he said cook in seven minutes or less between 600-700 degrees.

“I can cook it faster than I can make it,” he said, adding that a normal batch of dough will make 30 to 35 crusts.

Ashburn said he is already looking for an experienced person “to throw pizza” at the shop.

“I’m not talking about throwing dough in the air — that’s for show,” he said. “I am looking for someone that can prep things quickly. It is all about quality and staying on top of the little things.”

To reach Knik Pizza, call 373-3324 or find them online at www.facebook.com/knikpizza

Hours are Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday from 1 until 9.

Contact reporter Steven Merritt at 352-2269 or steven.merritt@frontiersman.com