Your Pie Pizza — Restaurant in Florida

When I heard a new concept restaurant was opening up in Fleming Island, being that it was an excuse for me to return to my roots, I jumped at the chance to go out and see what it was all about. If you haven’t been out to that area in a few years, you will be surprised how its changed…for the good.

Imagine if someone took a fast casual pizza place but gave you the option to custom make your pizza in a Subway, have it your way, style. Are you a gluten-free person? They have that as an option. Want a “ranchy marinara” sauce? Yep, they have that covered too (see what I did there? I’m here all day folks). Sun-Dried tomatoes, Carrots…yeah carrots, sweet corn, fresh cilantro…I could go on and on. Tons of options. You just walk down the line and point. And of course, they have a lot of cheese options.

Originally, when I got in line, I was planning on just getting around 3 toppings. Yeah, that didn’t happen. I was amazed at all the options. So, the 3 toppings thing didn’t last. I loaded mine up with ranchy marinara, mozzarella, fresh cilantro, mushrooms, purple onions, grilled chicken, and then big pieces of fresh mozzarella (The pizza picture below is my wife’s pizza, it’s call “The Nat”). When you are done with making your choices, they throw it in an open flame oven right in front of you. You then pay and take your seat. They call your name out (mine was ready before I even sat down) and bring your delicious creation to you. I barely had time to check out the gelato. I will discuss this in a minute.

They have lots of drink options. The Coca-Cola Freestyle will cover most of what you are looking for. They also had some local beers on tap, wine and I spotted some sangria.

Back to the pizza. It was great. It was exactly what I was craving. I like the fact that each pizza is just for you. If you are like me and not everyone in the family likes the same things at the same time, this is a good way to make sure everyone can get what they want.

After the round of pizza, I was determined to try out the gelato and sorbets. I got a sample of Blood Orange, Pistachio and Sea Salt Caramel. I’m a Blood Orange fan, it translated well. I think the Sea Salt Caramel missed the mark. Maybe that’s because I have a high standard when it comes to Sea Salt Caramels : Sweet Pete’s. My wife was a fan of the Mint Chocolate Chip. It was a good way to end the night.

Extras: Check out the Caprese Salad in a Bread Bowl! I didn’t see that until after I had ordered or I would have tried that out too. Next time…next time…

The Good: TONS of options for toppings Everyone gets what they want Local beer on tap The owners are local The employees seem to be all high schoolers but they were hustlin the whole time and were very courteous. Rare these days

The Bad: I live downtown and their only location is in...

It's no accident that Subway has become the world's largest single-brand restaurant chain. Its model works -- you see your meal created before your very eyes, to your exact specifications, in an efficient assembly line built for speed, and for a reasonable price.

The folks behind Your Pie want to bring that globally successful model to the world of personal-style pizza. Their first Northeast Florida franchise opened in Fleming Island in March 2013, and after my experience there, it's obvious what they're serving is hot.

Your Pie offers only personal-size pizzas (Mellow Mushroom is just down the street if you want to super-size things). You can opt for one of their 14 "favorites" with the ingredients all figured out for you, or go out on a limb and create your own. Then you choose from one of three crusts (white, whole-wheat or gluten-free) and top it with one of nine cheeses, eight sauces, 11 proteins and 25 veggies. It's great fun to mix and match as you mosey down the line, and here's hoping they find a way to store your combo preferences in some cloud one day, ready for cyber-recall. At the end of the line, they fire up the brick oven for up to four minutes at 550-600 degrees. And voila ... Your Pie.

You'll also find panini sandwiches, bread bowl salads, 12 sorbet and gelato flavors and plenty of craft beers (what else would you expect from a concept established in Athens, Ga.?). They also sport the way-cool Coca-Cola Freestyle if your drink preferences are softer or you're bringing the kids.

Pies range from $7 to $9, with paninis coming in at $8, salads at $7 (or $3 without the bread bowl) and the sweet treats starting at $2.45. And in kid-friendly suburbia, you'd better have something for the little ones. Kids' meals start at $5.75 and offer pizzas or paninis.

You can't beat the freshness you get from a pizza constructed before your eyes. The crispness of the veggies, the newly melted cheese co-mingling with the sauce, the overly hot first bite triggering an impromptu dive into your beverage of choice. It's a wonderful choice for large families celebrating after the soccer game, a quick lunch break from the office, or catching up with friends over pizza and beer.

The local franchisee promises more locations in the area over the next few years. The second location, in Jacksonville's Tapestry Park off Southside Blvd. and Gate Parkway, is currently under construction.

Oh, did I mention that Subway does a pizza, too? After trying both, it's obvious that Jared's baby can't hold a candle (or a 600-degree brick oven for that matter) to Your Pie's pizza-centric ethos, and let's face it, cool factor. Dive in, and have your beverage of...

Worst experience possible... I chose curbside due to being unable to go inside as I was not dressed appropriately and also did not have shoes on and was just running up to grab a bite to eat since they claimed to offer curbside service. I arrived and attempted to call to let them know I was there (despite it being obvious based on my unique looking car that was indicated with the order and no other customers in the parking lot) and I then continued to sit there for more than 30 minutes, calling back to back- literally I called over 40 times (stalker status) and used two different phones to do so and not one time did I get an answer. I left a message, messaged them on social media and chose every option available when attempting to call. After being there for more than 30 minutes, I chose to drive and park at the front door and then even had to wait another at least 10 minutes, probably more before someone came out with my pizza... which mind you was just one personal sized pizza. They didn't ask who I was and this clearly indicated they were well aware who I was and that I I was waiting for my order the entire time. Of course by now the pizza was cold, the cheese was not even melted and all gross and the food was def. not worth the wait! I should not have paid for this and had I not prepaid I never would have even waited that long. I will NEVER return and do hope others see my review and choose a more customer based business to spend their money with as obviously this one could care less about customer service or satisfaction! I would like to also add they were not busy- as I stated no cars were in the parking lot and I only saw maybe one person go inside my entire time of sitting there... It was not during a busy time of day either and just a really unnecessary disappointing experience. If they don't want to do curbside, why offer it and if they don't want to have to answer their phones then why have a phone number online? They disrespected my time and my trust in spending my money at their business to receive a service and I honestly should be refunded- but it isn't worth the hassle... lesson certainly learned though! I will choose where I get MY pies moving forward and that being somewhere other than that...