Neighbors Pizza — Restaurant in Olivehurst

I worked for Neighbors Pizza a few years back. And while the food tastes great for the most part, there are a few things you should probably know about their business ethics.

1.) I was hired mainly for dough making as it fit my schedule. When I was trained on their methods of making pizza dough everything seemed pretty standard until they showed me a 10 gallon plastic bag with what they call "recycle dough". Recycle dough is pizza dough that was prepped ahead of time ready for toppings that would be left out for a good amount of time, and if it weren't used they would toss it into the aforementioned plastic bag to be mixed into the next batch of pizza dough. Seeing this happen before my eyes was disgusting. And possibly considered illegal food handling.

2.) On my first day I was sent to the back to help make pizzas, I walk to the back and see a clamshell cooler, a walk in, and the pizza oven. Well for those of you who don't know what a clamshell cooler is: it is a waist level refrigerator with 2 "doors" on top which shield the inside food from air contact when not in use. The unit was in clean and good condition, although none of the food in the top of this refrigerator was ever tossed out after the 4 hour period for TPHC. (After 4 hours of being exposed to air contact food may have built up enough bacteria to cause food borne illnesses.) In fact, I was encouraged to save all the food and restock for the next day, (food should never be left in the top of a clamshell, it doesn't keep temp below 41 degrees.

3.) The NSF states that in order to have a running kitchen there must be a hand washing station available to all employees, along with disposable single use gloves for proper food handling in order to maintain guest safety. Though on site when I asked for gloves everyone looked at me strange while scrambling around to look for gloves. I was the only person who used them. Ever.

4.) Brian at first seemed like a really nice guy, and probably is a great person. But, after the way he handled his business I'm not sure if recommend ever working for him to anyone. First off I'll state that as a 21 year old at the time I was really easy going and easy to get along with. I didn't talk much because I focused on the tasks at hand. So when I say the blatantly disrespectful phone calls I received at 12:00 midnight from Brian scolding me is never deserved. Aparently I was being yelled at because his wife thinks I had a problem with her. (I didn't. Honestly I didn't even really pay attention to her.) As you'd expect one day I walked into work ready to quit from all the nonsense that had been going on. As I leave he said he wishes me the best of luck because I have no sense of urgency.

To your last words to me Brian:

Thanks for your wishes, because working for a place such as yours reminded me why I left Marysville, CA. To become a chef and serve my guests with respect and high quality food without sacrificing ethics. And if you were wondering what I'm doing now, I work as a Chef in one of the greatest kitchens making enough to live a much better life than you'd hope for.

Have...

This is a locally-owned business, so I am revising my review. I realize now I was a bit harsh originally. I really do appreciate locally-owned businesses and wish to support them over large chains.

To be honest, in this area, which is economically-challenged, prices for a slice of pizza need to be priced with the local audience in mind. Now, there are probably people who can afford to pay these prices, and for them, I'd say it is worth the visit to see for themselves. For me, I found that the price was just a bit outside my budget for lunch. So maybe it is just my own issue.

Given this IS a local business, I would first steer people to this place over, say, one of the commercial chains. The trouble is that for the price of a slice and drink here, you can get a whole pizza for $5 and buy a soda next door (there are convenience stores across the street) for a lot less. Frankly, I find Caesar's to be tasty enough, but maybe my taste buds are all worn out, idk.

I would say, please give these folks a chance and see for yourself. I'm trying to be fair. I know that a local business cannot always compete with the chains, and I also know that just because it might be beyond my price range it doesn't mean that everyone else will see it the same way.

I did NOT mean to offend the owners, who are local people also. I wish them nothing...

This has to be my new favorite pizza place, i haven't had a single disappointing meal out of everything I've tried so far, the pizza isn't too oily, its got great flavor, and you're left feeling good after eating it, not heavy or gross as some places can leave you feeling, and the sandwiches are an awesome option if you just want something on the smaller side, they've got just as good flavor as the pizza, arguably better depending on what you're craving, and the atmosphere of the place feels like a family business, a part of the community that cares for their customers, and if you go enough you can collect 10 tokens for a free pizza, its just a single topping pizza, but that was the best pepperoni pizza i had in years, it was almost nostalgic, i just can't suggest enough to give this place a try, even if it doesn't end up suiting your tastes as well as mine the price is so reasonably affordable that it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot

Edit: Make sure you get the garlic sauce, or at least not the usual pizza sauce, the pizza sauce tastes like straight up tomato puree to me, no seasoning, nothing to cut the acidic, and inconsistency between flavorless and tart, however every single item I've gotten without the tomato sauce has been great! So consider this...