Carol Johnson, Southern Indiana Business Report
ORLEANS – An Orleans pizza restaurant’s Neapolitan-style pizza is one of the best in Indiana, according to a new ranking by the Washington Post of the best pizzas in each state.
Speakeasy Pizza owners Matt Judah and Cody Dobner said they were “shocked” and “humbled” when they learned their pizza landed on the list.
“We’re just a mom and pop, small pizzeria,” Dobner said. “We’re two guys with construction backgrounds and still don’t know what we’re doing but we appreciate a good meal.”
Neapolitan pizza originated in Naples, Italy. Dobner explained the crust is stretched very thin and once in the brick oven, gets a fast cook at very high heat, we’re talking 90 seconds at 850 degrees. Pizza restaurants that use a conveyor oven cook their Neapolitans at a lower temperature for several minutes. It’s a difference you can taste, Dobner said.
“We use Italian flour that is the best you can get and our tomatoes are imported from Italy,” he added.
The dough is made fresh every day and all sauces are made in-house.
They still may be figuring things out, but pizza lovers agree that Judah and Dobner know how to make great pizza, breadsticks and how to create a fun dining experience.
Speakeasy plays up the Prohibition theme on its menu, naming pizzas after Fat Tony, Pretty Boy Floyd and Bonnie & Clyde. There are also Bourbon and Bingo nights, live music and patio seating on Jefferson Street during the summer months.
How it started
With their shared love of food, the two friends initially were going to make barbecue, but settled on pizza after deciding the area didn’t need another barbecue joint.
In the summer of 2020, Judah and Dobner were working in construction when they opened the restaurant during the COVID pandemic. They recalled on that first day, customers were lined up on the sidewalk and they cooked until they ran out of ingredients.
Three years into Speakeasy Pizza, the partners, who became friends through their kids’ involvement in marching band at Orleans High School, have since quit their day jobs to focus full time on the restaurant.
Orleans a bustling town
In addition to serving great pizza, Judah and Dobner want to create an environment that brings people to the quaint Orange County town of 2,500 residents.
“We have a beautiful square in Orleans and the town is pushing to be the best small town in the nation and you’ve got to have fun stuff to bring people downtown,” Judah said.
“Before we opened, there would be kids shooting hoops on the basketball court, but it wasn’t a destination,” Dobner added. “From Thursday to Saturday, between us, El Compadre and Hometown Scoops, it’s a very bustling area.”
As Speakeasy Pizza’s reputation has grown, so has its customer reach.
“We have cars pulling up from all different counties and states. We get people from Indianapolis and Louisville, which is humbling because they’ve probably driven by 50 places to get here,” Judah said.
Speakeasy recently added a food truck, also equipped with a brick oven imported from Italy. The first one was destroyed in a traffic accident a few months ago. Judah said the new truck, Knucklehead 2.0, should be up and going soon, traveling to festivals, food truck events and serving lunch at the WestGate Tech Park.
Experience Speakeasy Pizza
Speakeasy serves 13 different pizzas, including a few dessert pizzas, and offers a build-your-own option. Located on the north side of Historic Congress Square, Speakeasy Pizza is open from 11-a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
About 22 employees, aka Knuckleheads, keep the food, fun and PBR flowing. Speakeasy also offers catering.