An award-winning pizza restaurant in Rexburg is opening a second location. Here’s where
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IDAHO FALLS — An award-winning pizzeria serving authentic Italian and American-style pizza is coming to Idaho Falls.
Righteous Slice is opening its second location inside the historic Rogers Building at 320 B Street, Suite 105.
“It’s a beautiful 1930s-era building. We’ve done a complete remodel, honoring the history of the building,” said Bill Crawford, one of the owners of Righteous Slice, in a Facebook video.
Inside, there’s a hexagon-tile floor, charming brick, and a stunning tin ceiling. It’s projected to open sometime in December, but there’s not a definite date yet.
“In Idaho Falls, we’ll be serving New York-style and other styles of pizza such as a Detroit or a Sicilian pan pizzas, things that are a little bit different from what we do in Rexburg,” Crawford told EastIdahoNews.com.
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Righteous Slice began in Rexburg with Bill and his wife, Cheryl Crawford. It opened in September 2018. It’s in Hemming Village at 175 West 2nd South, Suite 100.
He said his goal has been to help create opportunities and make Righteous Slice a place where people can grow, learn and build skills that will change their lives.
“We have a small group of employees who have been with us for a few years and really want to go the distance. So to create opportunities for them to make a name for themselves, and to reach their goals and dreams, we decided we’d gladly go for it,” Bill said.
They have experienced team members, and they really want to test themselves and see what it takes to grow a business. It’s been nearly a year and a half of planning, designing and building. They’ve designed an immersive experience that honors the building’s history and celebrates the joy of pizza, Bill said.
“Not only do we want our guests to be happy, we really want the people who work there to be happy and love what they do and be proud of it,” Cheryl Crawford added.
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She also said they wanted to open a second location because of demand.
“One of our main problems was keeping up with demand. We thought having a second location would kind of help relieve some of that pressure from the Rexburg location as well as provide a cool place,” she said. “We found a space that we felt like we could make remarkable.”
Bill and Cheryl have traveled the world to learn from the best pizza makers. They’ve been to places like New York and Italy.
“We did a lot of study about not just what goes on pizza but observing the process of how they’re making it so that we are using the best techniques and equipment to produce something that we think is really special,” Bill said.
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Righteous Slice General Manager Andrew Crawford, Bill and Cheryl’s son, said he will open the new store in Idaho Falls. He will also be a part-owner. The location is in the final stages of construction, and he is actively looking for great team members to join the company.
The website says, “We are building a team of world-class pizza makers who want to earn acclaim for their hospitality and pizza skills in Historic Downtown Idaho Falls. If this sounds exciting to you, we want you to apply today.”
According to Andrew, the company follows five core values: quality first, genuine hospitality, passion, integrity, and mutual support.
He emphasized that it is a good place to work. His favorite part is that there’s always something to improve and ways to grow.
“We really only want people who care about what they are doing because if you don’t have people who care, you can’t make world-class food,” Andrew said. “We’ve won multiple international awards and have been published in The New York Times. We focus on high-quality food served every time.”
Every year, Righteous Slice holds a contest for employees, and the winner gets a trip to Las Vegas to compete in the International Pizza Challenge. In most recent years, they’ve won a world championship in Italy.
The local contest encourages each crew member to create their own potentially award-winning pizza. They have to make their own dough and create their own recipes, which are judged by a panel of Righteous Slice fans, Bill said. This year’s winner made a New York-style pizza with pistachio pesto, stracciatella, and prosciutto.
One of the biggest differences at Righteous Slice in Idaho Falls compared to Rexburg is that they’ll offer more pizza slices, Andrew said.
“In Rexburg, you can only get cheese or pepperoni by the slice. In Idaho Falls, we will have at least six different options, including our two most popular pizzas, the Bee Sting and La Regina,” Andrew said. “New York style will be in Idaho Falls, and the Neapolitan style won’t.”
The Neapolitan style will still be offered in Rexburg.
The Bee Sting has oregano, assorted spicy Italian cured meats, ricotta, Howell’s Honey, a house blend of cheeses, and house-made tomato sauce.
La Regina has homemade stracciatella, which is the inside of a burrata, fresh basil, olive oil and freshly grated parmesan.
“The slices are a great short lunch option for people who are either in downtown or work downtown and just want something to grab and go,” Andrew said. “I think the Idaho Falls one will be a lot simpler experience, just grabbing and going for lunch. In Rexburg, you might go in and expect a 20-to-25-minute wait time.”
New sauces and pizza combinations are coming too.
It’s a never-ending opportunity to learn when it comes to working at Righteous Slice, and it’s a place the Crawfords hope people will come try out in Idaho Falls. They are looking forward to it.
“It should be a great adventure. We are super excited,” Cheryl said.
“We’re really just trying to push the limits of how good it can be. So if you come to see us, you’re going to get a pizza that was made with our hearts and soul and the finest ingredients we can find, whether they’re locally sourced or, in some cases, all the way from Italy. We focus a lot on perfecting the technique,” Bill added.
