James Beard Award semifinalist opens new pizza shop in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS — Several months after the Rustic Hearth was closed and sold by owner Tom Schmitt in October, new life has appeared in the southeast Cedar Rapids space.

Mount Vernon business owners Jesse Sauerbrei from the Lincoln Winebar and Aaron Hall, the James Beard Award 2022 semifinalist at The Local Crumb, have taken over the space at 3531 Mount Vernon Rd. SE with a new concept bridging bread and its carb-based Italian cousin, pizza.

Fancy’s, the business name representing at least part of the new concept, has established a presence on social media with photos of the artisan pizzas being sold at pop-up events that started earlier in March.

The pizzas, sold just a couple times each week, are available only on specific days by advance order. Customers interested in tasting a slice should watch for posts on their Instagram page, @fancysnewyork, indicating which days orders will be accepted. Orders will only be accepted on days specified by their Instagram posts.

“The simple vision is bread by day, pizza by night,” Hall said in a recent email to Local Crumb customers.

As the business gets off the ground, Hall also has been baking bread out of the new location for wholesale customer accounts, according to the email. Bread is available for pre-order, too.

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