Build your own pizza in Wantagh

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A new way to eat pizza is coming to Wantagh. In the space that was formerly Friendly’s at the Willow Wood shopping center, Pie Craft will open in September. It is the pizzeria-restaurant’s second location, with its first in Island Park.

At Pie Craft, customers can create their own personal 10-inch pizza. Instead of selling slices, the shop allows pizza-lovers to choose from 80 different toppings for their dinner-plate-sized pie. Everything, including the type of crust, is personalized. The three dough options are house-blend, firecracker and gluten-free.

“Pizza dough is your blank canvas, and the crafting is up to you,” said Tom Corning, owner of Pie Craft.

The restaurant is also dedicated to offering a variety of healthy options, including vegan and gluten-free pizza. The kitchen will even have a gluten-free oven. 

Pies are baked with thin crust and take about 180 seconds to cook, Corning said. He added that the pies use less dough than two typical slices use. To make it even healthier, an additional amount of wheat is added to the dough. For vegans, there will be plenty of vegetable combinations to choose from and vegan mozzarella cheese.

“It’s gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan and delicious,” Corning said.

In addition to pizza, Pie Craft will have a full bar with beer on tap and Napa Valley wines. It will also serve salad, soup, wings and meatballs. Desserts include fresh-baked cookies, soft-served ice cream and shakes. These come with gluten-free options as well.

Corning, a resident of Long Beach, said that the idea for Pie Craft came about three years ago. He has been in the food business for 22 years, with restaurants in Long Beach, Island Park and Point Lookout. With Pie Craft, he wanted people to save money while eating healthy.

“We’re trying to create a fast, inexpensive way for people to eat healthy,” Corning said.

When customers walk in, they can expect to choose their dough, sauce and toppings at the counter. Similar to Chipotle, toppings are placed on the pizza in front of customers and then placed in the oven. They can then sit down and wait to be served. Corning has gotten positive feedback from restaurant-goers since the first location opened in March 2015 in Island Park. He is proud of what the restaurant has accomplished so far and excited to bring it to Wantagh.

Chris Brown, president of Wantagh Chamber of Commerce, said that he is happy the restaurant will be filling up the space, located on the corner of Wantagh and Jerusalem avenues. “I look forward to seeing them in the community and for the ribbon-cutting,” he said.

The restaurant will open up an outdoor seating area with about 40 seats. There are also about 100 seats inside. Corning said he can’t wait for the community to enjoy it.