It would be hard to get tired of Canyon Pizza Co.’s menu, said Michael Goller, general manager of the restaurant’s new location on Main Street in Moab. Once you’ve tried the classics, like cheese or pepperoni, try the jalapeño popper pizza, with alfredo, bacon, cream cheese, green peppers and jalapeños; or the Nashville Hot Pie Pizza, with Nashville chicken, red onions, house pickles, hot honey and ranch.

“There’s a conscious choice that goes into everything we do, from operations to pizza,” Goller said. “The direction in which we cut our vegetables, the layers in which the vegetables and meat go on the pizza, each pizza has its own unique look and texture. These are incredibly conscious choices just to ensure that we deliver the product we are most excited and proud of.

Cameron Tucker, the owner of Canyon Pizza Co., opened Canyon Pizza Co.’s first location in Nephi, Utah, in March 2020, eight days before Utah and the rest of the country shut down most businesses and restaurants. indoor locations due to COVID -19.

“We opened on the principle that we wanted to do a better job, faster, with better ingredients, and just provide a better experience for our local market here in Nephi,” Tucker said. “When we wrote this concept, we leaned heavily on it. And that has helped us a lot to find ways to stay open and stay safe. We’ve weathered all the COVID storms and we’ve thrived through it.

Goller said the Moab location came together this year thanks to Matt and Amber Neisen, who were “looking” to find a pizza place to fill the void left by Paradox Pizza. Tucker’s father lives in Moab and introduced the Neisens to Canyon Pizza Co.

“Moab is one of the most unique places in the world,” Tucker said. “It was fun meeting people, meeting the local entrepreneurs and meeting the people at the local hardware stores and restaurants. It’s a very tight-knit community, and we’re thrilled to be here.

Goller was involved in the business as a consultant as he has a background in gastronomy. When the Moab site picked up steam, Goller decided to quit his consulting job and become the new site’s general manager.

The pandemic changed Goller’s mindset about what he wanted to do with his life, he said.

“When I was a consultant, I didn’t have a day off. I may have had half a Saturday,” he said. “I wanted a change of pace, I wanted a new life that still allows me to live but gives me free time. After 15 years of camping and vacationing in Moab, it was inevitable that I would move here one day. It has always been a second home for me.

Goller said he was “excited about everything” with the new restaurant. The physical location is on Main Street across from the City Market, and unlike Nephi’s location, it will offer takeout as well as takeout.

“We have a wonderful dining room,” Goller said, and the place will eventually have an outdoor patio. Two of the community dining tables will be handcrafted, and Tucker’s father is handcrafting a front register counter from a salvaged drugstore counter that Goller salvaged in Pagosa Springs, Colorado.

Plus, Goller said, the menu prioritizes quality ingredients — all the flour used in the dough comes from the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and the honey used in the sauce comes from Utah.

“Cameroon [Tucker] and I probably tasted a dozen or two dozen different types of pepperoni so I could find the product we wanted to use that fit our flavor profile,” Goller said.

The Moab location’s menu will be similar to Nephi’s, but will only focus on pizza – the Nephi location also offers pastas, salads and wings, which Moab will not yet offer. But the Moab location will have a few new pizza flavors and offer more vegetarian options.

Prices range from $7 for an 8-inch personal pizza to $22 for a 16-inch family pizza.

“I think one of the best things about it is that we aim to be a family place,” Goller said. “The fact that we can serve large groups at a fairly affordable price means that we bring a lot of value to the table here in Moab…We will be open year-round, and we want to give people an alternative and affordable place to to eat quality food.

The location will open in late January, depending on when a few key construction materials arrive, Goller said.

In addition to jalapeño popper and Nashville hot pie pizzas, Goller also hopes to create a few specialties, such as a cheeseburger pizza or a Thai pizza.

“We want to keep people interested,” he said. “But if nothing else, our cheese and pepperoni are just great pizzas.”