It may have started on the West Coast in the 1980s but Papa Murphy's Take ‘N' Bake Pizza is just now arriving to the Upstate. It's not your standard take-out pizza joint. You can watch them create your specialty pizza, then you take it home and cook it in your oven when you're ready to eat.
Papa Murphy's new locations opened this summer in Taylors on Wade Hampton in front of Target and in Greenville on Pelham Road in front of Wal-Mart.
"You can cook it exactly the way you want it," says Austin Wilson, director of operations. "It fits into people's lifestyles."
Choose from the Thin Crust de-Lite with fewer calories and less fat or grab a stuffed pizza with two layers of dough and tons of ingredients. The stuffed pizzas can sometimes weigh up to 4-5 pounds, Wilson says.
There are two ways to go. You can create your own pizza with the type of crust, sauce and toppings you want. Or you can go for one of the signature pizzas and try something different like the Gourmet Chicken Garlic, with garlic sauce and an herb cheese blend. There is also the Herb Chicken Mediterranean, complete with olive oil, spinach and feta. The Cowboy is piled high with pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms and olives.
Each pizza comes with baking instructions.
"Everything is made fresh daily," says Wilson. "We get local produce for our toppings and salads."
Wilson bought the rights to franchise Papa Murphy's in the Upstate and would like to have 12 restaurants over the next few years. He wants to open shops across the Upstate such as in Spartanburg, Easley, Simpsonville, Pickens and Powdersville.
Large pizzas range from $8 to $13 and serve 2-3 people, mediums are $1 less than a large serving 1-2 people and family-size pizzas are 2 bucks extra and can serve 4-6.
Papa Murphy's also has cheese bread, salads, cookie dough, cinnamon wheels and a S'mores dessert pizza.
"People like 20 percent more for 20 percent less," explains Wilson. "These are tough times so when you're looking to feed a family and you can do it for 12 bucks — there aren't many places you can do that."
Check out a photo tour of the Taylors location of Papa Murphy's.
