Zuppardis Apizza’s bright red “Zupps Truck” has got a new sibling. The West Haven-based pizzeria has added a “mobile slice shop,” a trailer for serving pizza slices and other assorted items at large events, to its catering vehicles.
In a post on his Facebook page Monday, Zuppardi noted that the trailer was set up to work with colleges and universities, entertainment venues and hospitality groups, and the like.
Zuppardi’s Jim Ormrod, who runs mobile operations, said the new trailer is equipped to serve large batches of slices of pizza, which the food truck wasn’t necessarily designed for. On the truck, staff bake full-size cakes from scratch and bake them in the truck’s on-board oven. He said he’s turned down some business requests because he can’t create a large amount of slices with this setup.
With the trailer, he said, he and Zuppardi’s staff can bake pizzas in advance and reheat slices in a convection oven, making it easier to serve crowds faster.
“I just noticed that there’s a lot of demand for it in colleges,” he said. “I’ve had some interest in the truck from some of the music venues in the past. And because it’s booked with catering and it’s not designed for that, I had to send a lot of that stuff away. So [the trailer] will be able to handle it.”
Hot pizza comes out of the oven at Zuppardis Apizza in West Haven on April 23, 2021.
Lisa Nichols
The trailer, which easily couples to a pickup truck, is less complicated to operate than a full-fledged food truck, Ormrod said. It does not require propane or a generator as long as there is an available power source, and it can be operated with fewer staff.
Zuppardi’s is now taking requests for trailer bookings, Ormrod said, and menus will likely include a selection of pizza slices, salads and drinks.
The trailer announcement comes just over a year after Zuppardi’s opened its Slice Shop and Takeout Apizza location in Ansonia. The Beaver Street shop offers whole and slice pizzas, salads, sandwiches and garlic bread, as well as minestrone soup during the fall and winter months.
Ormrod said the customer response to the Ansonia shop has been great and it gives him the opportunity to try new recipes and introduce new offerings. Though Zuppardi’s is best known for its sausage and white clam pizzas, the Slice Shop has added new items like “granny pies” with a thick, square crust. The Ansonia location also offers a white cake with lobster during Lent.
This sign in front of Zuppardis Apizza in West Haven on April 23, 2021.
Lisa Nichols
“I think different is good as long as you stick to your foundation and things like that, which we’ve always been able to do,” he said of his family’s tradition. Ormrod is the great-grandson of founder Dominic Zuppardi, who opened the West Haven pizzeria in 1934 and now runs the business with several other family members.
Aside from its mobile offerings and newer Slice shop, he said the storied West Haven pizzeria is “as busy as ever.” Zuppardi’s also has a satellite location at The Hops Company beer bar in Derby, with a menu of red and white pies, home-made soft pretzels, a Sunday brunch menu and specialty pizzas such as. B. with cucumbers.
