A pre-birthday peek into Columbia’s beloved by-the-slice pizza joint, Pizza Tree.
Nearly 10 years of making pizza paragon after pizza paragon has culminated in Pizza Tree’s formulaic approach to adding new items to the menu: crafting an idea into a mouth-watering reality, scaling the product, giving the pizza a funny name and connecting it with the community.
Currently, the Logbro is owner John Gilbreth’s favorite.
Dotted with cup-and-char pepperoni from Ezzo Sausage Co., housemade Italian sausage, Peppadew peppers, dollops of ricotta cheese and fresh basil — “because basil tastes good on almost every single pizza” — the Logbro was first introduced when Pizza Tree held weekly events at the nearby Logboat Brewing Company.
“You’ve got sweet, you’ve got savory, you’ve got the coolness of the ricotta, you’ve got some freshness with the basil,” Gilbreth said. “For me, Logbro is where it’s at.”
The pizza’s distinct name originated from Gilbreth’s observation of the sheer number of bros that flocked to the brewery.
“When Logboat first opened, it was such a huge sensation,” Gilbreth said. “I was just like, ‘I did not know all these bros live in Columbia, Missouri.’”
The Logbro, having now been on the menu for almost a year, is a testament to Pizza Tree’s playful attitude and passion for pie — both of which have captivated the residents of Columbia.
A TripAdvisor review reads the following: “Pizza Tree probably isn’t the first pizza place that comes to mind in Columbia, but it should be at the top of the list. They make great pizza with creativity and heart. The unusual combinations make their pizza unique; however, they also offer plenty of standard options for less adventurous diners. Whole pie or slice, there is no pizza in Columbia like Pizza Tree.”
The origins of Pizza Tree
Gilbreth came to the University of Missouri in 1999, living on the fifth floor of Hatch Hall and majoring in Mathematics. He dropped out of Mizzou two weeks into the semester (“I didn’t, like, drop out drop out, I just quit going to class”) and got a job at Pizza Tree’s neighboring Columbia ‘za hotspot Shakespeare’s Pizza, where he worked until 2005.
With seven years of experience making pizza at Shakespeare’s and with summers spent touring the likes of Brooklyn, New York, and Portland, Oregon (“arguably one of the top five pizza towns in the USA”), with his band, Gilbreth came to the realization that there was “more out there than what we have here in Columbia pizza-wise.”
So, Gilbreth set out to change that. He started Pizza Tree in a little kitchen at Mojo’s — now Rose Music Hall — where he “got to spread the good word of (his) good pizza” before shifting his attention to 909 Cherry Street.
“And then,” said Gilbreth. “I never looked back.”
Pizza Tree officially opened in October 2014. Originally, the restaurant had a dining room, but COVID-19 led to its closure. Nowadays, Pizza Tree offers takeout, pickup and delivery options from its window from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m on Friday and Saturday, as well as from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and on Sundays.
Pizza Tree prides itself on locally-sourced and house-made ingredients, which Gilbreth thinks differentiates his establishment from other Downtown pizza places.
“There’s no bullsh*t,” Gilbreth said. “Corporate pizza, they’re all about smoke and mirrors … I don’t like all the tricks, I don’t like gimmicks, I just want to sell you a pepperoni pizza that’s absolutely, ridiculously delicious at the best price that I can to pay my staff really, really well and to keep this place going and well maintained. Really, (Pizza Tree is) worth everything that we all put into it.”
Despite initially having plans to open another location in Columbia’s Southside, Gilbreth and his wife Amanda Rainey opted to purchase Goldie’s Bagels instead, cementing their family’s Downtown dynasty.
“I didn’t move to Columbia and drop out of college and stay here for 20 years to go to live on Nifong where it looks like every other town in the USA,” Gilbreth said. “Downtown Columbia is my town, that’s why I live here (and) I’m proud to be here … f*cking go Tigers!”
A slice of life in Columbia
Whether serving slices to college students, catering to department pizza parties or fueling Columbia’s nightlife, Pizza Tree has something for everyone.
“It’s the love, baby; that’s all it is at the end of the day,” Gilbreth said. “We’re proud to support and serve a huge variety of customers. … We get to fill all these cool little niches of Columbia, and that’s something I’m really proud of.”
Signature pies like the Logbro, the Flying Hawaiian, and the Kimchi Pie might reflect the creativity and color that Pizza Tree is known for, but there is just as much “love” put into classic flavors like pepperoni or cheese, too.
“Every element of the food has been considered now for at least 10 years and has been considered 100 times over,” Gilbreth said. “(We want) to make sure that we’re delivering a product that tastes good and that meets the demand of our customers at the rate that they want it, at the price that they want it.”
To celebrate their 10-year anniversary, Gilbreth plans to offer three different specials through the month of October. Above all else, Gilbreth is grateful for the unwavering support that the city of Columbia has shown Pizza Tree and hopes to return the sentiments.
“You know, I just think that we’re really lucky to have a really unique, original spot here serving a really unique, original product,” Gilbreth said. “I just want everybody to think of us as a nice place — not nice, like, fancy — a place that people can just feel good about spending their money at, feel good about working at, feel good about just knowing that it’s there. Even if you don’t like the pizza, we’re still doing what we do because we love it and because we love this town.”
Pizza Tree is located at 909 Cherry St., Columbia, Missouri. Find out more about their 10-year celebration and delicious pies by stopping by, shooting them a call at (573) 874-9925 or visiting them at pizzatreepizza.com.