Have you been to Danvers Pizza & Subs for their gluten-free options?
In this post, I'm diving into why this pizza place should be on your list for gluten-free food!
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure page for more information. This post is not sponsored. I interviewed the owners of Danvers Pizza & Subs to learn more about their protocols for their gluten-free food. For more information about them, please visit their website here.
It's no secret that dining at a pizzeria or pizza shop with celiac disease can be risky.
With airborne flour and large possibilities of cross-contact, it's something many people (myself included) steer clear of unless there are strict protocols in place.
Enter: Danvers Pizza & Subs.
This takeout pizzeria on 114 in Danvers, Massachusetts goes above and beyond in preparing its gluten-free food. I was so impressed with their protocols, I decided to invite the owners, John and Chanda Ellis for an interview about why they cater so carefully to people with celiac disease.
I've done a similar Interview with the head of Culinary Operations from Burtons Grill & Red Heat Tavern. You can read about it here.
Gluten-Free Food at Danvers Pizza & Subs
About Danvers Pizza & Subs
Danvers Pizza & Subs is a husband and wife pizza shop located on the North Shore of Boston in Danvers, MA. The location was a former pizza hut that has now turned into a local establishment that everyone loves! They opened in October of 2020 and have since been growing more and more popular - especially in the celiac and gluten-free communities.
From the Danvers Pizza & Subs website:
Danvers Pizza & Subs is owned and operated by John and Chanda Ellis. Married right out of high school, John and Chanda have been grinding away in the restaurant industry for the past eight years. John started as a grill cook in a busy pizza shop in Lowell and eventually moved on to be a fry cook in a full-service, scratch kitchen. Working every day to learn the ins and outs of the fast-paced foodservice industry, John rose through the ranks at a fast pace. Working with that brand for several years and opening three locations with them, eventually being promoted to Head Chef of one of those locations. Chanda started as a host and her friendly, hard-working, and driven attitude promoted her through every role a restaurant has to offer. Eventually settling into a marketing and event management position. Chanda is dedicated to upstanding customer service and is always willing to go the extra mile. With their combined experience and drive for success, they decided to branch off on their own. Promising fresh and delicious food that is always sold in a positive and friendly environment. Our goal is to bring classic ingredients together for great food, you won’t believe is takeout. Find us on 114 in Danvers!
Gluten-Free Food at Danvers Pizza & Subs
Every gluten-free order at Danvers Pizza & Subs is treated as if it were celiac. And their menu has a lot of tasty options for you to enjoy, including pizzas, wings, chicken tenders, and salads. They did have gluten-free calzones, but unfortunately, the factory making the dough shut down due to labor shortages. So their gluten-free calzones are no longer available until further notice. We hope for their tasty return though, because they were insanely good!
Why Gluten-Free?
When I asked the owner John why they were so dedicated to serving people with celiac disease safely, he said, "I decided if we were going to do it, it would be done safely. I've worked in places where they have a gluten-free pizza on the menu, but then they place it on the same cutting board and cut it with the same knife. It defeats the purpose - it's not gluten-free. So if I was gonna do it, we were gonna do it right."
Additionally, both John and his lovely wife Chanda have family members with celiac disease. So being able to serve them safely or to include food items they would enjoy, meant a lot to them.
Celiac Protocols
As I stated previously, every gluten-free order at Danvers Pizza & Subs is treated like a celiac disease order.
There is a gluten-free pizza station with its own toppings, that are cut separately. There is a dedicated cutting board, pizza wheel (they only use a wheel for GF pizzas), and large tray for cooking the pizzas.
The fryers have been deep cleaned, vacuumed, scrubbed, and converted to gluten-free fryers with fresh oil, including running oil through the tubes at least once to clean out any residue before adding fresh, clean oil.
Rice flour is used as their bench flour throughout the restaurant. They do not make any pizza dough in-house. It is all bought from an outside source. So that means the only airborne flour is rice flour.
What Happens When You Order a Gluten-Free Pizza
John explains: "When we first we get the order, we confirm it is gluten-free, as well as announce in the kitchen so everyone is aware of it. It also shows up on the pizza screen with big letters gluten-free on top of the item. And then it's prepared in an entirely separate gluten-free pizza station, all toppings are cut separately and kept separately here. Then we have our individual wrapped gluten-free pizza dough, which we take out, put onto a sheet tray, a full sized one, not a small tiny one the size of the pizza. This way, nothing can go next to it or near it in the oven. The pizza is cooked by itself. We use a gluten-free pan spray, add the dough and toppings, and run it through the pizza oven alone. When it comes out, we have fresh gloves on, use the gluten-free cutting board, which is purple, the gluten-free pizza roller and it gets put into a separately marked gluten-free pizza box which is 12 inches. Nothing else goes into a 12-inch box - only gluten-free orders, which is a separate size."
What Happens When You Order Wings or Tenders
"We streamlined the fryer and converted them to be gluten-free, so it's a little different here since everything fried is gluten-free - all tenders and wings. We always change our gloves though, every time. We also package any gluten-free orders separately. We ask customers if they ordered gluten-free is it okay in one bag, or not. Even though it's wrapped, we want to make sure that nothing is coming in contact with your food if you have an allergy or celiac disease."
To view the entire menu at Danvers Pizza and Subs, please click here.
My Favorite Things To Order
Until the gluten-free calzones make an appearance again, I love their buffalo wings and pepperoni pizzas, made gluten-free, of course! Both are scrumptious.
Final Thoughts On Danvers Pizza & Subs
I believe John and Chanda go above and beyond for the celiac community than average restaurant owners. Furthermore, their knowledge and awareness of cross-contact from having worked in restaurants and having family members with celiac disease means they get it. Every time I walk into the restaurant I feel welcomed, and their staff is very friendly. It's no surprise I've run into fellow celiac foodies like my friend Molly of @onmollysplate on a Friday night here at Danvers Pizza and Subs. We love finding places where we can eat safely!
Order takeout from Danvers Pizza & Subs here on their website, like their page on Facebook, or give them a follow on Instagram!
Have you ever been to Danvers Pizza & Subs?
Let me know in the comments!
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