Prince Of Petworth » Blog Archive » Pete’s New Haven Style Apizza Starts Delivery Tuesday

Pete’s New Haven Style Apizza Starts Delivery Tuesday

06 July 2009 10:39 PM | By Prince Of Petworth in Neighborhoods - Columbia Heights, Pizza

Pete’s New Haven Style Apizza, originally uploaded by mkw4114.

When we talked about this last week the delivery stopped at Sherman. But thanks to your comments the initial delivery area has been expanded. From an email:

“Taking feedback from the comments section on PoP and some good Twitter traffic into consideration, we’ve decided to move the boundary on the east side of the initial delivery area to Georgia Avenue, not Sherman. This will allow us to incorporate the residential side streets between Ga and Sherman.

Also, there’s a $20 minimum on delivery orders.

We’re going to be taking the first week very much day by day. Co-owner and Petworth resident Joel Mehr will be taking all the calls, and using his judgment hour-by-hour as to whether the delivery staff can effectively deliver within the initial delivery area or not. If it’s slow, deliveries outside the area may be accepted; if it’s slammed, the area may need to be limited temporarily to ease the rush and ensure good service.

We’ll keep you posted. We’ll be tweeting as much as we can during the first week to keep things up to date. http://twitter.com/petes_newhaven

Thanks, PoP readers.”

06 July 2009 11:15 PM | 2b3s Said:

$20 minimum for delivery — fortunately you can’t find a pie on Pete’s menu for any less!

06 July 2009 11:27 PM | RD Said:

What is the expected driver tip when the delivery charge is 3 bucks?

06 July 2009 11:28 PM | Isotopor Said:

2b3s beat me to the obvious. Why specify a minimum that’s less than anything on the menu? j/k, kind of…

07 July 2009 12:01 AM | coco dleprechaun Said:

Pleasant Plains in da houuuuuuuuse

07 July 2009 8:08 AM | Anonymous Said:

And now the local pizza parlor is on Twitter….fuck me, I’m so behind….

07 July 2009 9:18 AM | anothermous Said:

I’ve never been, is it worth trying out?

07 July 2009 9:27 AM | TonyS Said:

yes. its awesome.

07 July 2009 9:48 AM | EPF Said:

Thanks for moving the boundary.

07 July 2009 9:52 AM | Anonymous Said:

Man, I really hope they extend the boundary west to include Mt. Pleasant. I could get delivery to my old place on U Street, but not my current place, which is considerably closer. Maybe they think Radius has MtP covered?

07 July 2009 10:12 AM | Anonymous Said:

Awesome on extending the boundary, but I had no idea how expensive their pizza is! That’s more expensive than Red Rock, Radius, Moroni Bros. or anywhere else!

07 July 2009 11:20 AM | Dboe Said:

I’m with Anon 9:52. Mt. Pleasant wants some Pete’s love! I prefer Pete’s to Radius, as do a lot of my neighbors. I hope they extend the boundary to include at least part of MTP.

07 July 2009 12:26 PM | pru Said:

I second RD’s question: what is the expected tip if there’s a $3 delivery charge?
I also second Anon 10:12: when you go there for a glass of wine and two slices, al fresco, for $12, it really doesn’t feel as expensive as a $25 pie with a $3 delivery charge. But I will order one tonight anyway. And I hope there’ll be something to watch on TV other than MJ’s funeral.

07 July 2009 2:38 PM | Anonymous Said:

OK, chalk me up as another Mt. P resident who wants the boundary moved. I don’t get why they wouldn’t do that? Makes no sense to me. Lots of people live in Mt. P with plenty of money to spend on $25 pies.

07 July 2009 6:21 PM | Sue Said:

If you read the link, they plan to add Mt. P eventually. I think they wanted to limit the numbers and complexity while they work out the kinks.

07 July 2009 9:31 PM | GforGood Said:

Man, as nice as this is, I still have to wonder how on earth are they going to handle the increased demand when getting a pie at their location now sometimes takes its sweeeeeeet time?!?

08 July 2009 6:16 AM | CH Dweller Said:

I think it’s wonderfully ironic that restaurants previously refused to deliver EAST of 16th Street and Pete’s delineates its delivery boundry not to go WEST of 16th Street…

Good on you Pete’s….

That being said, I’d include Mt. Pleasaaant

09 July 2009 9:21 AM | Anonymous Said:

I read the link, and only mentions extending boundaries more into Petworth; no mention made of Mt. P. They are losing money.

09 July 2009 2:19 PM | michael@petesapizza.com Said:

Hey y’all. Thanks for the kind words. We started sloooooowwwwwly on day 1 (Tuesday), but picked up considerably yesterday. The owners (Joel and Tom) were running deliveries when the two drivers were out on deliveries, so everyone is pitching in. I have the feeling it’s going to be hectic tonight through the weekend.

We have created an initial delivery area that, like Columbia Heights itself, has a north-south orientation along 14th Street, mainly for logistical reasons.

We want more than anything to be able to deliver to Mount Pleasant — we have gotten many requests in-store, this week and for months up to this point, from Mount Pleasant customers.

However, before we get the system worked out, we’re trying to make the area logistically as easy as possible. At this point everything is a trial. The problem with going west is that we have major construction along Park Road, the main westerly road, and Columbia Road, the other main westerly, is carrying most of the overflow. 16th is really tough to get across without getting stuck on the way over, or on the way back. If we lose a driver for a half hour delivering one pizza, and we get two or three more orders in the meantime, no one is happy. So, getting to you is really tough right now. And it’s only our first week of delivery. The other problem is, of course, getting back to 14th and Irving. Also congested. Ever sit on Monroe for 3 light cycles? I have.

So, we’re going to make sure we get the hang of things first, then move permanently into Mount Pleasant and Petworth. We have to see how it goes the first weekend (or two) before committing to a permanent boundary change.

Believe us, Mount Pleasant, we know you’re out there. We’re NOT leaving you out because “Radius has Mount Pleasant covered.” You need the choice!

And, believe us, Petworth, we know you’re out there (Alicia and Joel, co-owners, live in Petworth).

Watch the website for the latest updates. http://bit.ly/KBtFD

09 July 2009 2:29 PM | michael@petesapizza.com Said:

Re: comments on pricing

While Pete’s has a minimum order of $20 for delivery, we should note that the menu contains much more than pizza. We have pasta dishes starting at $7.95, panini starting at $8.00, salads starting at $3.95. And, SLICES for $2.50 to $3.25 each. So a customer can put together a meal of a couple slices, a salad and a bottled soda, and still come up short of $20. It’s one of our challenges as a pizza restaurant: getting customers to venture off the pizza menu and try some of the other dishes.

Also, since we are first and foremost a restaurant, home delivery is an added service above and beyond the price of food and drink. There are substantial costs to adding this service for our customers, including insurance, driver wages, fuel, management, etc. Plus, (hopefully!!!) the cost of a new POS software system that will allow us to accept orders online. We’re hoping to upgrade that, but are not ready yet. This is the reason for the surcharge. Domino’s and Pizza Hut both charge for delivery as well.

Thanks for all the comments and feedback. We’re working to make sure this system rolls out smoothly. Sure hope it goes well this weekend… Fingers crossed.

Mike W.
Pete’s