east PIZZAS started the same way a lot of obsessions do:
with someone trying (and repeatedly failing) to make really good pizza at home.
Roly, our founder, our fearless leader, our pizza pioneer, started out as an estate agent. But fate had other plans, he just had to, well, learn how to make pizza first...
Growing up in a household filled with cookbooks, thanks to his hobby chef dad, it was inevitable that a young Roly Simpson would develop a love for food.
It wasn't until he stumbled across the River Cafe books at the library that his obsession with pizza began. He fell in love with the artistry of the pizzas on the page, and even tried (and failed) to recreate them himself in the early days.
There were some successes.
There were also plenty of “this could be better” moments.
But he kept going anyway.
Different flours. Different proving times. Different ovens. At one point, he even made a pizza peel out of a paving slab.
All in pursuit of the perfect dough.
It never really stayed as a casual hobby. He was always a bit more invested than that. So eventually, he packed in his office job and went to cookery school for 6 months.
Then when a small unit became available in Leith, he refused to let the opportunity pass him by.
His dream was realised, and east PIZZAS was born.
After a couple of years, one restaurant became two, and things looked promising.
Then Covid hit.
You don't need us to tell you what that did to hospitality.
But, despite all the uncertainty - demand grew for our pizza dough.
Loyal customers requested fresh dough to create their own pizza nights at home. And quickly, word spread to the point we were sending out more dough than pizzas!
Things grew from there. More orders came in. More opportunities followed - like opening in Bonnie & Wild.
And following feedback from our customers, along came our pre-baked pizza bases, which were (and still are) a huge hit!
In the last year, we've started popping up across wholesale and retail - you might see us on the shelves of delis and farm shops as well as on your local pub's food menu.
We're so proud of how far we've come so far - and we're just getting started.
But this wouldn't be possible without you. The people who have supported our small business, and our unchanged ethos of good food made with good ingredients.
So thank you for being a part of our story. Thanks for helping one man's pizza obsession turn into what east PIZZAS is today.
