Not Just Pizza Anymore
Pizza from Driftwood Oven.
Walking down Butler Street, pre-pandemic, on a Friday night, there was one sight you were sure to see: a line outside of Driftwood Oven.
The pizzeria, which first got its legs in 2015 as a mobile stand, had become a Lawrenceville favorite, and for good reason. Their pizza, built on a sourdough crust that is thin and slightly crusty in the center, ballooning with light air bubbles on the edges, was unlike anything the city had seen. Hence, the lines.
Now, three years after Driftwood opened in Lawrenceville, big changes are coming.
In December of 2020, the restaurant completed a Honeycomb Credit campaign, earning investments for a major construction project. Once finished, construction – which includes the addition of a handful of appliances, a new point-of-sale system, and renovations to their space -- will allow Driftwood to triple its ability to produce revenue, according to the summary on their campaign page.
With the changes and additions to their restaurant, Driftwood gains the ability to open for expanded hours. According to owner Neil Blazin, the plan is to take this step-by-step, adding lunch hours first, eventually opening all day.
Weekend bakery hours, offering a variety of pastries, breads, and sweets, were added during the pandemic, though Blazin says their original plan was to find a separate space to hold a Driftwood bakery.
“[Coronavirus] kind slowed us down a bit, not in a bad way. I just think it kind of focused us on what’s happening in the building, and we’re going to be able to do all the things we wanted to do, with probably less stress of having two spaces,” he says.
When their new space is finished, the plan is to switch service from more formal, sit-down to fast-casual. Rather than expand seating, Blazin says they're cutting it down. Driftwood will still have places for people to hang out, but there will be no hostess list to wait for a table; it’s all first-come, first-serve.
“We’re still going to be pouring beer and wine,” he says. “We’ll still have bar service – I imagine people will come in and drink beer and get a couple slices, but there won’t be any like, ‘Hey we have a party of six,’ or anything like that.”
Blazin says their popular bread share and neighbor loaves programs will continue. Eventually, they plan to add retail sales, serving as a small market space for the neighborhood.
“Our vision is that Driftwood Oven can be anyone's neighborhood spot. Want a slice real fast? We got ya. Need some eggs because you have a surprise house guest? We got ya there too. Big party this weekend? We can bring our mobile oven to your place and throw a bash! We love the community that supports us and we simply want to be there for them in more ways than we currently are,” the restaurant writes in the Honeycomb credit campaign.
They'll also have the opportunity, in the new space, to host classes. “We’ll be doing bread baking classes and pizza classes. Basically, we’re going to have almost like a teaching kitchen,” Blazin says.
Once the restaurant is out of pandemic mode, Blazin says that new items will come to their pizza menu as well.
Blazin doesn’t have a firm date when construction on the restaurant will conclude, but he’s planning for it all to be finished by May. Currently, Driftwood is open for takeout Wed.-Sun, from 4-9 p.m. Bakery hours -- goods are available for pre-order, and trust me, you don’t want to miss out on their giant cinnamon rolls -- are held on Saturdays.