Steve North had four specialty pizza orders for two as soon as Mission Pizza opened during Saturday afternoon opening hours. He placed the different ingredients onto the 10-inch pizzas before putting them into the oven.
The customers who ordered were locals Dustin Mayfield and Celi Ramos. They had found out through social media the night before about the “South Shore bar pizza” style and were eager to try different specialty pizzas.
They ordered the Fig & Pig, the BBQ Brisket, the Margherita and Greek and started to taste-test the pizzas. Mayfield took photos of the pizzas and said the Fig & Pig was the one he enjoyed the most.
“They must have been excited to try all four,” North said as he finished the last order for the two customers. “It usually never happens.”
North and his wife, Lais, have operated Mission Pizza and served the South Shore bar style pizza in the Denton area since 2020.
North described the style as a hybrid among the New York, Detroit and Chicago style pizzas. The pizza is made in a 10-inch pan.
“I’ve always thought that our style was special and unique and deserved a place amongst all these other ones that are famous around the country,” North said. “Like, everybody knows New York style; nobody knows South Shore bar-style pizza — yet.”
North said Mission Pizza started in November 2020 at home, then the business moved to the Food Experience Corp. at Aubrey in March 2021.
When the lease was up at the Aubrey location in August 2021, they partnered with Herfs Denton County Tap House at Rayzor Ranch the same month and have been operating at the current location since last year.
The kitchen is small, and North had to rearrange it to make it work for his staff.
North said they prepare 100 pizzas during a busy day and could probably go up to 200. Staff includes stepdaughter, Eduarda, better known as Duda, and employee Benny Wilson, who crammed into the kitchen before opening hours to prepare the ingredients.
‘We’ve definitely refined our process a lot over time to where we can get things done more quickly,” North said. “But we need to be focused for a period of a few hours.”
North said they push the dough out in the pan and don’t like to stretch it by hand. Instead, they put a ball of dough in the pan, push it out and then place the sauce and cheese on the edge of the dough.
North said as the pizza is cooking, it gets caramelized against the edge of the pan, creating what he calls “laced edges,” and the customer can feel the softness of the pizza.
“As you bite into it, you feel the softness on the top,” North said. “People compare it to like a biscuit.”
The flavor went through trial and experiment to get the right taste. North said he credits his wife for helping create the signature sauce.
“My wife is also an awesome cook,” North said.
North grew up on the South Shore of Massachusetts and ate the style of pizza. He said his wife is originally from Brazil and handles behind-the-scenes work and bookkeeping.
While he tried different pizza styles back home, South Shore bar style became the go-to meal for special occasions.
“It was a different style than all the others in the area,” North said. “And so, like, I grew up eating that amongst other types of pizza as well. It wasn’t the only pizza I ate back home, but it was always the one I would get for special occasions.”
The idea to make Mission Pizza a business came from the support of family and co-workers. North said he just wanted to make the pizza that he grew up with at home and then decided to let his family and co-workers try out the pizza.
“Everybody loved it,” North said. “So, like, people started urging me to start a business.”
North said the restaurant name was inspired by a mission for him and his wife. The mission was to give back to the community. North said they are set to be part of several donation events during November.
“When we started the business, my wife and I wanted to commit that we were going to give something back to the community,” North said.
While the classic pepperoni pizza is the biggest seller, North said, the Fig & Pig pizza gets the most feedback. The toppings include cheese, bacon, white onion, jalapeño and prosciutto.
“So, it’s like a great balance of sweet, spicy and savory,” North said.
North’s dream is to have a chain of restaurants across the North Texas area.
“I’m really passionate about this style of pizza, and I think it deserves to be recognized,” North said.
North wants Denton locals to try his pizza and support a small business, because, he says, “I know if they [locals] give it a shot, they will love it.”
Mission Pizza is located at Herfs at 2655 W. University Drive, Suite 1031, in Denton.
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