BILLINGS - A new pizza joint called Jet's Pizza opened Thursday in Billings and is focused on bringing the city's first taste of Detroit-style pizza.
The business, located at 1678 Shiloh Road, is part of a pizza chain that began in Michigan. The store is the chain's first location in Montana, and the franchise owner said the goal is to open more across the state.
Jet's Pizza is best known for serving Detroit-style pizza, which is square-shaped and has a thick, deep dish crust. For customers on opening day, such as Robert Shatzer, the new type of pizza hit the spot.
"The crust was really crispy, the pizza had amazing flavor and really gooey cheese," Shatzer said after his first slice. "I love the thick crust. The pan crust. They're my favorites."
Jet's also offers other types of pizza, including New York style, cauliflower crust, gluten-free crust, thin crust, and the classic round pizza. New York style is known for being incredibly thin and typically is folded over by the consumer.
The most noticeable difference between Detroit style and New York style is the shape, and Jet's business partner Gary Mermel said its origins are intriguing.
"Its claim to fame is that it's a square pizza, and the reason for that is that being from Detroit, the originator took the square pans from the car factories," Mermel said with a laugh. "So hopefully, they were clean."
What began as a convenient option turned into a delicacy. Now, it's the chain's unique feature, along with the fresh taste and ingredients.
"Our dough is fresh every single day," said co-owner James Webster. "I think that's really what distinguishes us from the other people."
"If you didn't know we were a franchise I think you'd say, that's a heck of a pizzeria," Mermel said.
A new pizza joint — hoping to bring a fresh perspective of the American Classic to Billings.
"It's a little bit of a different style," Shatzer said. "It's amazing flavor and I'm just excited for it to be here."
