STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
Wiseguy Pizza was conceived at 23,000 feet in the air. Now it’s about to get a sky high look to it.
Owners Eric Heiden and Fred Burke, who dreamt up the pizza parlor when they ran into each other on a flight from Cincinnati to Salt Lake City, are about to trade their hard hats back for aprons.
They hope to open their newest Wiseguy Pizza venue Dec. 15.
The dark red building with charcoal trim will sit on Hailey’s Main Street on the lot that used to sport the Power House pub and bicycle shop. And it will feature an expanded menu.
“We wanted a big open space and this is like a pole barn with post frame construction,” said Heiden.
The new pizza barn will nearly double Wiseguy Pizza’s space—from 1,600 square feet to 3,003 square feet.
It will boast a 30-foot vaulted ceiling. Two glass garage doors on the side will open in the summer to give the indoors an outdoor feel. The establishment will feature a large covered patio, as well.
“We’ll have seating for 120 indoors with an area in back for larger groups. We’ll have a bar and games room. And we’ll have a pull-down 15-foot movie screen for big sporting events,” said Heiden.
Wiseguy began construction in September, using plans drawn up by Hailey architect Jay Cone.
Heiden and Burke, who had worked together at Lefty’s Bar & Grill, decided the valley needed another pizza option during their flight. And, by the time the plane landed, they had their plan in place.
They opened their first pizza joint in Hailey in 2004 in the building now occupied by Smokey Bones. In 2006 they moved to their current Hailey location next to KB’s Burritos and LL Green's. And in 2009 they opened the Ketchum location on Sun Valley Road.
They modeled their New York style hand-tossed pizza after Sy’s New York Pizza, which Heiden lived over while attending the University of Oregon at Eugene. They picked the name after coming up with a short list that included “Dude, Where’s My Pizza?”
And they came up with an even longer list of interesting names and toppings for their pizzas.
Metro Guy, for instance, features spicy marinated chicken, arugula, thin sliced lemon, feta, caramelized onions, garlic and olive oil sauce. BBQ Bird features BBQ chicken, scallions, caramelized onions and Gouda cheese.
Greek Anti-Pizza features salami, ham, Roma tomatoes, artichoke hearts, Kalamata olives, pepperoncinis, feta, garlic and grated Parmesan. Sad Guy features gorgonzola, bacon, meatballs and red onion.
And White Trash Guy features Kettle potato chips, ranch dressing, bacon and scallions.
“We sat around thinking of things we wanted to eat,” Heiden said. “The White Trash Guy is kind of a deconstructed nod to the Idaho potato.”
The pizzeria is popular with celebrities—enough so that Wise Guy employees have a list of code names for those they deliver to.
Heiden plans to expand the menu in the new venue, adding grilled meats, salads and appetizers such as cheese stuffed fried risotto balls to a menu that already includes calzones, meatball and Italian hoagies, and Caesar, spinach and cobb salads.
He is also plans to offer more beer and wine options.
“We’re hoping hockey teams and football teams will find it a good place to hang out after games,” he said. “And we’ll see if we can do some live music, as well.”