Jen McDonald
Karl and Sarah Worley, the team behind Biscuit Love, were staying in a tiny 14th-century village near Cortona, Italy, in 2018 when they were invited to endure a tasting of 22 pizzas. One slice of each. No two toppings alike. The next morning, while walking off the epic meal, epiphany struck. Pizza and biscuits actually have a few things in common: It all starts with great dough and once they’re on the table, they’re good at bringing people together.
The concept for ‘za, a fast-casual pizza spot in Hillsboro Village, came together quickly from there. The couple looked around Nashville and noticed that while there are several stellar pizzamakers in town (Folk, City House, and Nicky’s come to mind), as well as a few decent spots to grab a slice, there wasn’t a lot of middle ground.
“So, it became this idea of taking a wood-burning, super craft concept where we were purposeful in our sourcing and purposeful in our menu design—but then putting it in a really casual environment,” Sarah says.
The Worleys set off on a year of research that involved trips to Philadelphia and New York, and the building of a pizza oven in their own backyard. One trip to A Dopo restaurant in Knoxville gave Karl his pizza dough north star: a sourdough crust that undergoes a long, slow fermentation. He pulled out a sourdough bread starter he’d received in culinary school and has been carrying with him since 2008. Over the years, she (her name is Chloe) moved multiple times and was nearly starved, but with a little love, became the base of ’za’s remarkable dough.
Jen McDonald
The Hillsboro Village shop opened in early September near the second location of Biscuit Love—you can’t miss the Bill Murray mural peeking out from the side patio. Inside, it’s just a few family-style tables and a counter, behind which a black tiled Stefano Ferrara pizza oven is fired up daily. The menu is simple: A kale Caesar salad, an appetizer of oven-fired dough with a ricotta-honey dip, about nine different varieties of pies, and one dessert. There are a handful of beers and wines to choose from, too.
But within that simplicity lies a lot of creativity. The whole family got in on the recipe development, including daughter Gertie who came up with the Rescuer, which is layered with chunks of spiced sausage, mozzarella, and the fragrant addition of mint leaves. There’s a ‘Shroom Pie, layered with white sauce, earthy roasted mushrooms, and oregano, or the simple Pepp in My Step, with ‘roni cups (a specific type of pepperoni that curls up into a crunchy, salty bowl when it’s baked), red onions, red sauce, and mozzarella. The Thoroughbred Hillbilly gets a tuft of green arugula tangled atop Benton’s prosciutto.
But the dough is what makes them all. The blend of Red Fife and rye flours for the starter and King Arthur all-purpose in the dough goes through a four-day fermentation, resulting in a seriously toothy chew, and a deeply satisfying, tangy flavor. It holds up as it’s turned and moved in the oven, and under the weight of so many great toppings. It’s light and airy enough that you can eat a whole pie and you won’t be moaning as a result.
The Worleys, already well-versed in opening multiple locations, have a second ‘za in the works, this time in the Gulch. And just like all of their restaurants, it’s sure to bring everyone to the table. To gather. To nosh. Or, as the Worleys like to say, to mangia, y’all.
’za, 2005 Belcourt Ave., 615-622-4457; zayall.com