Serving "Neapolitan-ish" pizza, Timber Pizza Co. plans to begin making RVA pop-ups in April. (Photo courtesy Timber Pizza Co.)
The story behind Timber Pizza Co. begins with a series of lunch dates between two friends, and a 1967 Chevy pickup truck. The chapters that follow include making the list of nominees for Bon Appetit’s Best New Restaurants in America a year after opening, a farmers market romance and an ongoing quest to keep the forward momentum.
“I think we're always sort of looking for that next challenge,” says Andrew Dana, a Washington, D.C., native and co-founder of Timber Pizza Co., a D.C.-based restaurant and mobile pizza operation.
"We’ve proven we can do one concept; [we asked ourselves,] what’s something else we can do?" he adds. "That's where Call Your Mother deli was born, and in our mind, [it's] a natural progression of wood-fired pizza to bagels. We had dinner covered; let's do breakfast and lunch. And now how do we launch in a new city? And that's where Richmond comes into play."
In mid- to late April, Timber Pizza Co. plans to make its Richmond debut and host weekly pop-ups at breweries and farmers markets around the region, slinging its “Neapolitan-ish” pies. Made from fermented dough, the pizza isn't quite as delicate and fluffy as a classic wood-fired pizza, but its crispy bubbles make it strikingly different from New York style.
The vision for Timber originally emerged while Dana and his friend Chris Brady were working for a financial literacy company. During their 60-minute escapes from their desk jobs, they would scout the best bites in D.C.
“We crushed the lunch hour every day and were always going to new spots and talking about food and clearly had this bond,” Dana says.
Looking for a way to dip their toes into owning a food business, they settled on a concept that felt accessible and that they could test without four walls while simultaneously connecting with the community. Their no-gimmicks pizza pipe dream began to come true after a Google search led them to an old blue pickup truck that would serve as the vessel for their traveling wood-fired venture. In May 2014, Timber Pizza Co. made its first mobile appearance.
“Early on, there were definitely some gigs where not a lot of people showed up because we had no brand recognition,” Dana says, “but we were relentless and showed up every day somewhere and built that following, and what we lacked in knowledge and skill we made up for in grit and hard work and positive attitude.”
Within the next two years they would experience major milestones, from debuting a permanent pizza home in the Petworth neighborhood of D.C. in 2016 to meeting business partner and now Dana’s wife, Daniela Moreira, and being acknowledged in a major national print publication.
“I tell everybody that it went better than best-case scenario,” Dana says.
Dana met Moreira at a farmers market, where they ended up splitting the last carton of eggs. A Culinary Institute of America grad and former Eleven Madison Park employee with Argentinian roots, Moreira was the missing piece of the pie at Timber.
“We met her a year into the mobile game, and she helped take our stuff to the next level,” Dana says, noting that she had the culinary edge and intuition they needed. “The pizza was good at first, but it just kept getting better.”
In 2018, they debuted Call Your Mother deli, a “Jew-ish” neighborhood bagel shop that has evolved into a seven-location hit. And with three Timber mobile ovens in the D.C. area plus a growing catering element, entering the Richmond market made sense.
“It was just, 'How do we got out from behind this desk job and make pizza every day?' That was where the dream ended,” Dana says. “And then it was, 'Holy moly, this went better than we could’ve ever imagined,' and then you get the itch to do something else and continue to build on it.”
At the helm of their custom Marra Forni oven, Brady says the Timber team is excited to return to farmers markets, the place where those relationships with patrons and local purveyors initially flourished.
“We still buy our pea shoots and kale from the same farm we did six years ago and plan to do the same thing in Richmond,” Dana says.
Pesto is the base for their Green Monster pie, on the menu from day one, topped with fresh mozzarella, kale, zucchini and feta. The top-selling selection is The Bentley, with tomato sauce, a blend of provolone and mozzarella, soppressata, cured chorizo, Peruvian sweet peppers, and a drizzle of spicy honey.
While there are menu mainstays, Timber's ingredients also reflect the season and are focused on freshness and simplicity. Other staples include overnight slow-roasted pork empanadas and za’atar biscuits.
Timber recently signed a lease at Richmond's Hatch Kitchen and has confirmed a pop-up at Scott's Addition's Starr Hill Beer Hall & Rooftop for May 3. While they're strictly focused on Timber’s debut in Richmond for now, the team say that if it goes well, the chances of Call Your Mother deli heading south also increase.
"We only have one playbook," Dana says. "Start with a mobile oven; hit all the farmers markets, breweries and festivals we can; and if all goes well, open a restaurant, and that's the game plan with Richmond."
