Show notes
What makes a tavern-style pizza stand out—and what does it take to build a pizzeria that can grow beyond the owner?In this episode, Eidref visits Last Round Tavern in San Jose and sits down with owner Caleb Ramirez to talk about the unique pizza style he's bringing to the Bay Area.Their tavern-style pizza is thin, crispy, cut into squares, and loaded with ingredients all the way to the edge—but instead of the traditional cornmeal, Caleb uses a sourdough starter. The result is a pizza that's familiar, but completely its own thing.Highlights:0:00 – Discovering San Jose’s Hidden Tavern-Style Pizza0:32 – What Makes Last Round Tavern’s Pizza Different1:00 – Sourdough Meets Chicago Tavern-Style Pizza1:52 – Rolling, Stretching & Building the Dough2:24 – The Cuban Pizza: Braised Pork, Ham & Salami3:07 – 15-Hour Wine-Braised Brisket3:33 – Building a Taco-Inspired Pizza3:45 – What Would Caleb Tell His 26-Year-Old Self?4:20 – Learning to Step Away From the Kitchen4:50 – Why the Owner Can Become the Biggest Bottleneck5:00 – Revitalizing East Santa Clara Street5:35 – Why Last Round Didn’t Offer Online Ordering for Five Years6:00 – Overcoming Fear & Opening Up to New Opportunities6:34 – “I Should Have Done This a Long Time Ago”6:41 – Building a Business That Isn’t Just About the Owner7:00 – Taking the In-Restaurant Experience Online7:39 – Creating a Better Online Ordering Experience8:48 – Tasting the Pizza: The “Hella Texture” Moment9:30 – The Crunch and Texture They’ve Been Chasing10:10 – Tasting the 15-Hour Braised Brisket10:41 – Why They Put So Much Time Into Their Ingredients10:52 – Creating Something Customers Can’t Find Anywhere Else11:14 – Final Thoughts: Quality, Value & Doing Something DifferentFollow them:https://lastroundtavern.com/https://www.instagram.com/thelastroundsj/https://www.facebook.com/thelastroundtavernCheck out Owner.com: https://bit.ly/3UvMQzyDM @whatsgooddoughhttps://www.instagram.com/whatsgooddough/email me: [email protected]:Last Round Tavern, Last Round Tavern San Jose, San Jose pizza, tavern style pizza, Chicago tavern style pizza, sourdough tavern pizza, Bay Area pizza, San Jose pizzeria, thin crispy pizza, square cut pizza, sourdough pizza, tavern style pizza California, Cuban pizza, Cuban pork pizza, brisket pizza, taco pizza, wine braised brisket, pizza dough fermentation, pizza business, pizzeria owner, restaurant owner operator, restaurant systems, restaurant bottleneck, online ordering restaurant, restaurant growth, pizza business growth, Bay Area pizzeria, San Jose food scene, pizza entrepreneur, pizza podcast, What’s Good Dough podcast, Eidref podcast, pizza business strategy, independent pizzeria, restaurant marketing, customer experience, pizza industry, artisan pizza, unique pizza concepts