What do pizza and pups have to do with one another? At Pizza to the Rescue, quite a lot.
The restaurant wouldn’t even exist without its neighbor, Almost There Rescue, a dog shelter that specializes in rescuing pregnant and nursing mama dogs and puppies. Unlike restaurants that occasionally choose a charity to support, Pizza to the Rescue was created specifically to help fund the organization (hence the “rescue” in its name), giving back 25% of its pizza profits to the cause.
How Pizza to the Rescue Started
The idea of a restaurant that supported the shelter wasn’t so much a mastermind idea, but a whim.
In 2018, when Almost There Rescue outgrew its original space, founder Geri Hormel and her husband, Hunter Rodgers, moved the operation into a warehouse-type building at Indian School Road and 26th Street. They needed to fill the other two warehouse-type buildings on the property with tenants, but COVID made it difficult to find the right renters. Then, Rodgers got an idea, inspired by his desire to shift careers.
“I’ve been cooking my whole life,” he said, having worked in kitchens and traveled for food. “Why not start a little restaurant in one of the spaces that we already own?”
Opening the restaurant was a familial undertaking. Between Hormel’s mother, a restaurateur with decades of hospitality experience, and her then-boyfriend who was a well-known chef, Rodgers received mentorship in restaurant and culinary fields. His own mother, an award-winning interior designer, and his father, with a background in architecture and branding, influenced the design.
The resulting operation now reflects that love, support, and mentorship.
Come For the Pizza, Not Just the Pups
For Rodgers it was important that the diners didn’t support the restaurant just because they felt good about its mission. He wanted the food to be great. So, it was non-negotiable that everything at Pizza to the Rescue be made from scratch, from the dough to the mozzarella to the sauces and desserts. All cooking at the restaurant is done over the open fire—there are no gas burners or freezers on the property.
“I did not want to hide the food behind the cause,” Rodgers says. “It was kind of the other way around. I wanted to sneak in the cause around amazing food.”
Why a pizzeria? It’s simple. Rodgers long enjoyed making pizzas in his pizza oven at home for friends and family. Besides, he added, Italian food tends to be more forgiving on the margins so it was a good way for him to get his feet wet in the restaurant world.
Plus, pizza making requires some sweet cooking toys. In fact, Rodgers refers to the restaurant’s turquoise, penny-tiled wood-fired oven, custom-made in Naples by Stefano Ferrara, as the “Ferrari of pizza ovens.”
“I love the science and art behind the dough and fermentation and the baking, ovens, and the gadgetry,” he said. “I wanted [the oven] to be the centerpiece of the restaurant … front and center in the bar so people could sit there and have a beer, glass of wine and watch all the pizzas being made.”
The Style and the Mission
As for Pizza to the Rescue’s effortlessly cool and eclectic look, what one might describe as mid-century modern meets Mediterranean. Much of the design materials were salvaged from other projects, said Rodgers, including the earthy terracotta clay tiles and the swoon-worthy antique crystal chandelier that came from the McCune Mansion.
Although the menu and interiors sell guests on the experience, the true heart of Pizza to the Rescue will always be the dogs.
On most evenings, adoptable dogs from the rescue next door come to hang out on the restaurant’s covered patio. Around 5 or 6 p.m., depending on the season, rescue staff and volunteers bring over anywhere from a single dog to an entire litter of puppies, introducing them to diners interested in interacting with, meeting or potentially even adopting them.
The dogs rotate throughout the evening so the youngest pups don’t get overwhelmed. While Arizona summers can complicate the setup, safety measures are taken to keep the pups safe while still giving them some patio time. Overall, it’s also good for socialization, shared Hormel, which could easily refer to the pups and the people.
Best part, the pups often pull on guests’ heartstrings, resulting in adoptions. In fact, one family fell so in love with a puppy on the patio that they adopted her, then created her an Instagram account @jadethepizzapup.
Many puppy alumni from Almost There Rescue also return to the restaurant for get-togethers. Guests are also welcome to dine with their own four-legged companions. Water bowls and treats are available, along with a dog menu featuring dishes such as chicken and rice with vegetables and dog-friendly desserts.
“We love our dogs like family and bring them everywhere,” said Rodgers. “It’s always so fun when a restaurant is so inviting … it makes you feel like the dogs are actually welcome there and not a nuisance. We really wanted to help curate [that] because it’s so important to us personally.”
Since the “little restaurant” first opened, an estimated $267,467 has been raised for Almost There Rescue through pizza sales, guest donations, events, and additional fundraising efforts. The restaurant’s contributions help fund food, vaccinations, spay-and-neuter procedures, emergency medical care, parvo treatments, and the staff needed to care for the roughly 100 dogs the rescue may have at any time.
For Rodgers, the restaurant’s success exceeds anything he imagined. He added, “It’s lived up beyond my wildest expectations and dreams, and it’s continuing to grow.”
Visit Pizza to the Rescue Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. 2601 E. Indian School Rd., Phoenix, pizzatotherescuephx.com
