Co-owners and long-time friends Kevin Gist and Joseph Ghafouri Wehrly first got the idea to start up TNT Pizza during the pandemic when both found themselves, like so many of us, without jobs. Gist and Wehrly have been in the pizza industry a long time, working with New York style pies. Gist has about 20 years of experience, while Ghafouri Wehrly has at least 15. The pandemic granted a rare opportunity for experimentation.
“That’s kind of how it all started,” Gist told What Now San Diego. “I’d never tried to make Detroit-style pizza before, so I bought some of the proper pans, and we tried it, and it was like holy shit, dude, this is incredibly good.”
Detroit-style pizza is similar in thickness and dough-hydration to Sicilian pizza. “With Detroit-style you put cheese all the way to the edges of the pan so the cheese cooks up against the pan and creates kind of a crispy cheese crust,” Gist added.
Don’t worry if you aren’t big on the thick-crust pizzas (although we might judge you); TNT Pizza will also serve up pies in a thinner variety. You’ll even find vegan and gluten-free options on the menu.
TNT Pizza has been operating as a pop-up since its inception, but the pizzeria has finally found a permanent home in San Diego. TNT Pizza is headed to 550 14th St, Suite 116, on the corner of 14th and Market. The storefront gives the company 1,234 square-feet to work with. According to permit intel obtained by What Now San Diego, the pizza shop will have hours from 11AM to 10PM.
Look for TNT Pizza to open sometime in September, and in the meantime check out the company’s Instagram; TNT is in the process of getting their website up and running, so that’s still a few weeks out.
