116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Aroma Artisan Pizza expands with first stand-alone location in Kingston Yard
Pizzeria adds New York style, beer and wine to menu
Dec. 18, 2024 5:00 am
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CEDAR RAPIDS — The dough at a Cedar Rapids pizzeria is stretching a little further than it used to, thanks to a new opening.
Aroma Artisan Pizza’s second location, opened in Kingston Yard on Oct. 31, is the maturing pizza shop’s first stand-alone location outside NewBo City Market since it started in 2017.
The new spot at 151 First Ave. SW, Suite 101, adds new styles, six beer taps, wine, a dining room and plenty of room for new growth to the menu. It remains open alongside its original NewBo City Market shop.
“Pizza, gelato and freeze-dried treats — they’re all about gathering and fun things to do with others. This is very similar to NewBo in that people gather here,” said owner Carol Elliott. “We like to be where the action is, and we like to be part of the community and its growth.”
If you go
What: Aroma Artisan Pizza at Kingston Yard
Where: 151 First Ave. SW, Suite 101, Cedar Rapids
When: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday; Closed Monday
Phone: (319) 777-6119
Website: aromaartisanpizza.com
Details: Neapolitan wood-fired pizzas join a new selection of 12-inch or 16-inch New York style pizzas alongside house-made gelato and beer and wine. Pizzas range from $12 to $20.
Available for dine in and carryout, with delivery available in the future via third-party delivery apps.
Continuing their growth
After a layoff in 2017, Carol Elliott realized she didn’t want to be part of corporate America anymore. So she turned to a passion she had been cultivating for years with her family: pizza.
At her family’s home, pizza was already serious business. By 2017, the family had already built a brick pizza oven in their backyard and kept a notebook with tasting notes for each batch, sharing their creations with neighbors.
“It was a fun thing to do with teenagers,” Elliott said.
So when Maggie’s Farm Wood-Fired Pizza was looking to exit its NewBo City Market spot, the business found Carol ready to pick up the mantle to keep its wood-fired pizza in New Bohemia. With recipes passed down, Carol turned the business into a family affair.
The family went from making five-pound dough batches to 50-pound batches, evolving their own signatures and improving their offerings over time through educational trips to pizza expos and National Restaurant Association conventions.
Her husband, Craig, a former Anamosa attorney, and her older son, Chris, still help run the pizzeria today.
After seven years, the recent opening is a new chapter in growth for the family business.
“We had grown every year, and I like a new challenge,” Elliott said. “I think that’s the most fun for us, the challenges.”
While many passionate cooks find themselves in over their heads when they make cooking their profession, Elliott said throwing dough and cooking pies remains a joy for the family, even after years of doing it full time. She credits the successful transition to her prior management experience in the corporate world, where she helped bring many projects to completion.
“If your only passion is the cooking part, the other parts will drag you down,” she said.
New slices, New York pies
In addition to Aroma’s classic 11-inch Neapolitan pies, the new location will offer New York-style pizza in 12-inch and 16-inch sizes.
Those not hungry enough for that much dough can get grab a slice from the case, instead.
Aroma’s Neapolitan dough uses a finely milled 00 flour that makes the dough delectably chewy after coming out of the wood-fired oven.
Its New York-style dough incorporates a malt before being put into its deck oven, which can accommodate bigger pies than the wood-fired ovens.
A few new creations, like the Veggie Lover with a mild pesto sauce and The Carnivore with a variety of meats baked to a satisfying crisp, join topping combinations imported from NewBo City Market.
The Neapolitan sauce is fresh and light, opting for California tomatoes over San Marzano — the traditional choice in Naples, Italy. Elliott has found that locals prefer the brighter taste of homegrown, American tomatoes.
The cooked New York sauce is a bit thicker and heavier, matching the hearty dough it’s spread out on.
Aroma’s cheese blend continues a tradition gifted by Maggie’s. A high-quality mozzarella with a kiss of buffalo milk is accented by a sheep milk-based Pecorino Romano from Italy, an Irish Parmesan found during pandemic shortages in Italy, a domestic Parmesan and Parmigiano-Reggiano — dubbed the Italian “king of cheeses.”
“I found out very early that we became cheese snobs,” Elliott said. “You get more complexity in the flavor.”
She hopes to experiment with more styles in the future, such as the German-style Flammkuchen, traditionally made with nutmeg, creme fraiche and bacon, on a cracker-thin flatbread.
“It’s delightful,” she remarked.
For dessert, try one of their nine gelato and sorbet flavors — most of which are made in house.
Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.
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