Pieology Pizzeria Opens First Florida Location in Miami

California-based Pieology Pizzeria has made its way to Florida and set up shop in Miami. The fast-casual restaurant, which serves made-to-order pizzas in less than three minutes, is now open in the Fountain Square shopping plaza at 10141 W. Flagler St. in Fontainebleau, the West Miami-Dade neighborhood.

Pieology is doing for pizza what Subway and Chipotle have been doing for sandwiches and burritos for decades. 

You basically custom-order your pizza through an assembly-line process, choosing from eight sauces and then any combination within 40 choices of meats, cheeses, vegetables, herbs, and spices. 

The pizzas are tossed into a stone oven and baked in less than three minutes. Customers also have the option to add a "flavor blast" of after-bake sauces — Buffalo, pesto, or barbecue — to enhance the flavor. 

The 11.5-inch pizzas can also be made with gluten-free or whole-wheat dough. If the number of options is just too much for you, Pieology offers seven signature pizzas, which can also be customized. 

Earlier this year, Pieology rolled out a line of customizable salads made with either organic field greens, romaine hearts, or spinach; more than 40 garden-fresh and artisanal ingredients, including sunflower seeds, garbanzo beans, and candied walnuts; and a choice of five signature salad dressings, which can be served on the side or tossed with the salad.

As with its pizzas, Pieology also offers signature salads, such as the classic and the caesar, as well as a side salad. 
"We love giving our guests the gift of personalization, and we're excited our new guests in Miami will be able to make fresh, made-to-order pizzas and salads," says Carl Chang, founder and chief executive officer of Pieology. 

The prices are affordable, he says. A customized pizza with unlimited available toppings, as well as most of the signature pies, cost than $8. A basic "easy cheesy" pizza is only $6. 

Another feature of Pieology is that it's known for its industrial-chic environment, where you can decorate the walls, menus, and employee uniforms. 

The Miami outpost is the pizzeria's first Florida location. Launching in Rancho Margarita, California, in 2011, the cafeteria-style, fast-casual pizza joint grew to become a franchised chain and has expanded to more than 100 locations. A second Florida location, in the Jacksonville area, is slated to open this winter, according to restaurantnews.com. 

Aside from opening in Florida this month, the chain unveiled its fourth restaurant in Alabama and its first in Hawaii. The chain has been growing so rapidly that Panda Express bought a minority stake in the company in January, according to the Los Angeles Times. 

Pieology Pizzeria is open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.