We recently connected with Nick “Chewie” Chard and have shared our conversation below.

Nick “Chewie”, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

The industry standard of pizza promotes average pizza and pizza certainly deserves a higher ranking in the food world. At Pizza Quest we deliver more than just pizza, we present a culinary journey of things you have never tasted or even imagined together. “Chewie’s Chow”, a collection of intentionally crafted pizzas, are meant to spark interest and then deliver a memorable experience. Any time that connection is made we have done our job.

For example, the #3 Incredible Hulk has captured many loyal enthusiasts. This pie has a base of pesto, and then loaded with top of the line mozzarella, crumbled gorgonzola, miso blanched broccolini, pickled red onion and fluffed pistachio mortadella. My customers stop close friends of mine to tell them how “life changing” this pizza is.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Growing up, my mother, was always cooking and baking. She was THE master of baking. She baked for any coworkers bdays, to try new recipes and to keep my family well hopped on all sorts of fresh from the oven goods. She was a well calculated baker and cook. She taught me the value of following recipes precisely and in turn, I grew particularly fond of her food and her processes.

I also worked in the food and beverage industry for nearly 20 years at a locally owned, fine dining restaurant in Kalamazoo, Michigan called Bravo! Restaurant and Cafe. This place was an incredible scratch kitchen and it opened my eyes to what capabilities and excitement the culinary world presented. I worked for the restaurant primarily in the front of the house, with the exception of running a brew program, but spent every spare second I could soaking up and practicing techniques. I also learned about flavors, sauces and even shooting from the hip dishes. A whole new world for me that really rounded my culinary experience out.

After being a food enthusiast for many years, my dear friend, Scotty Jacobs, and I embarked on our first Food Social. We were fortunate enough to borrow a space called, Redbud Farm, to host a 20 person 6 course dinner with drink pairings. The first course is still talked about to this day. A sugar coated yeast doughnut piped full of a chicken liver mousse and garnished it with a pickled blackberry. The best part was the experience we delivered with the course, it was paired “seamlessly” with French sauternes wine. The combination of food, drink and atmosphere was soooo exciting, a “memorable” experience.

This is when the buzz really started for me. I wanted more and more of that energy.

Life happened and I left the culinary world to pursue time with my amazing family. I moved into finance and worked a 9-5, weekends off so I was able to capture life with them. It was incredible to get that time, I would not trade it for the world.

Although things at home were great, I was not fulfilled through my work. I was a creative soul stuck in a numbers world.

Over the next few years, Scotty and I executed 2 more Food Socials. They were more fun and more creative each time. We hosted a 4/20 Taco Sesh and a Food and Foliage pop up dinner. We exercised perfectly prepared food while you were engulfed in a truly captivating environment. In one course we served a whiskey aged vinegar reduction, with a summer flower and watermelon “tuna” rice wrap, that was paired with a milky sake with butterfly pea flower ice cubes and a lime garnish. You couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the beautiful colors and flavors of the roll, and each time you looked back at your cocktail, it had changed a darker blue with more swirls of magenta. As I mentioned, I just wanted more and more of these experiences. I absolutely LOVED seeing reactions after people ate my food.

I was happy enough planning pop ups and looking to find land near the Fennville/Saugatuck/Douglas area to settle. Things were going OK, until I was informed a pizzeria in Fennville was up for sale. My wife, Sarah, who is much more level headed than I, said “Nick, you need to do this. You will never forgive yourself if you do not.” And from there, I am here. My quest through life has led me to this point, I am exactly where I am supposed to be!

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I was in finance and decided to leave to open Pizza Quest, lots of my peers gave me concerned looks. It is quite comical to think about now, but at the time it wasn’t. I was leaving a stable job to gamble on my passion. But passion is an incredible thing, and when you put faith in yourself to pursue it, its even more incredible. The feeling I have each day waking up is worlds larger than when I was passing time in finance.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Reputation is everything. At Pizza Quest, crafting consistent quality pizzas and delivering the correct vibe/experience has been top priority. All things in the kitchen are built from the ground up when we can. All of the enhancements are fresh and beautiful because you eat with you eyes first. The dough takes days to make and the sauce was balance around the premium tomatoes. It a beautiful thing and it is showing. All pizzas that leave give me excitement; the combos and creativity. I simply want to eat each one because of their beauty, and if I don’t, it gets redone. When scrumptious pizza after scrumptious pizza leave Pizza Quest, the reputation will build itself.

Contact Info:

• Website: pizzaquestmi.com
• Instagram: pizzaquestmi
• Facebook: Pizza Quest
• Yelp: Pizza Quest