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San Diego pizza maker has 3,500 people begging for a pie — but only makes 15 a week
AJ Miller has turned the East Coast-style pizza he missed after moving to San Diego into a small home-based business, Echo Apizza. Demand far exceeds what he can make: more than 3,500 people compete for 15 weekly order slots, which sell out in under 30 seconds.
Miller began posting his pizza experiments online and started selling them after losing his marketing job this summer. He makes 15-inch New Haven-style pies in a home oven set to 550°F, using a baking steel, a broiler finish and dough fermented for three days. They cost $25 to $30 each; Miller says the business makes a profit, but not enough to live on, and he may eventually move to a professional kitchen.
In short
- More than 3,500 people chase 15 weekly pizza slots.
- AJ Miller’s pies sell out in under 30 seconds.
- He makes New Haven-style pizza in his apartment oven.
Explained simply
New Haven-style pizza is a regional style from Connecticut, on the US East Coast. It is usually thin and crisp, and is traditionally cooked in a very hot coal-fired oven. People from the region who move elsewhere may seek out its distinctive texture and taste.
Echo Apizza is a small home-based business in San Diego run by AJ Miller, who began making the pizzas after missing East Coast-style food. He sells them directly to customers, making a limited number in a home oven; the dough is left to ferment for several days before baking.
The business sits between a personal food project and a small commercial venture. Miller has said that sales bring in a profit but not enough to support him, and that a professional kitchen could be a future option.