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Mid Rivers Newsmagazine is St. Charles County's
exclusive direct-mailed community newspaper. |
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Mid Rivers Newsmagazine Restaurant Spotlight Archive |
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No Short Cuts At Fox Pizza DenBy Mary Ann O'Toole Holley
The Hilkes opted to go above and beyond the generic 1-800-PIZZA approach. Fox's Pizza Den, born in Pittsburgh as a six-hour success story, seemed like just the ticket for the Hilke brothers, who longed to break away from "being told" to making their own way. So, they bought the unique franchise and built their own success story. In just over a year Fox's Pizza Den at Persimmon Pointe Market in O'Fallon has become their own mid-life trump card. "Fox's Pizza Den is the first one in town, and I think people are really intrigued," said Neil. "A lot of people compare it to New York-style Pizza. Franchise founder Jim Fox compares traditional St. Louis-style pizza to 'ketchup and crackers." As the franchise founder tells it, it was March 1971, when he rented a storeroom, spent $500 on a few pieces of equipment rescued from the snow and ice of a Pittsburgh scrap yard, put together his first pizza and made his first home delivery. Six hours later, he was sold out. Word spread and the next thing he knew folks were asking for franchising opportunities. Like Fox's dream for independence, the Hilkes could relate. Becoming one of about 250 franchises in 28 states - the very first in St. Charles County - the Hilkes are contributing to the Pizza Den's $128 million in sales nationwide. Moreover, they have joined the ranks of a restaurant that was voted best pizza franchise of 1993 by the National Pizza and Pasta Association and recipient of Pizza Magazine Quarterly's 2005 Pizza Industry Enterprise (PIE) award winner. Fox Pizza Den has consistently ranked as one of the best pizza and sandwich franchises in the United States by "Entrepreneur" and "Pizza Today" magazines, the Hilkes said. "The pizzas are fabulous. People say they love the 'crunch' of our hand-tossed crust. But the sandwiches are wonderful, to put it in a word," Marty said. There are tasty sandwich varieties that include Hoagies, served on plump hot rolls, and "Wedgies," a delicacy that is not the least bit uncomfortable (as the name implies), could be called a sandwich, but is more like a baked pizza crust wrap. All cost about $6 Wedgies come with any variety of meats and every topping in between, including the popular choice sirloin steak with melted provolone, mozzarella cheese, sweet peppers, onions and mushrooms with lettuce, tomato and mayo. The Italian Wedgie features ham, hard salami, melted provolone, mozzarella cheese, green peppers, onions, lettuce, tomato and gourmet Italian dressing. The Wedgie list goes on and on, enough to fill a full page of the menu. If you are a vegetarian by choice, try the Veggie Wedgie with mushrooms, green peppers and onions, covered with melted provolone and mozzarella cheeses, topped with lettuce, tomato and Italian dressing. Specialty salads are different and amazing with surprise toppings you would never expect on a greenery. Try the Chicken Fry salad - a tossed salad with hot seasoned fries, marinated chicken and cheddar cheese served with one of seven dressing choices. "The fries are like croutons, an unusual topping, but really tasty," Neil said. "We sell tons of chicken fry and steak fry salads." Hoagies, Stromboli (no, it has nothing to do with Pinocchio) are a break from the "let's-have-a-pizza-delivered idea." The Pizza Den Stromboli is a traditional Italian turnover, made the "Fox way" and comes in deluxe with the works, Italian, steak and a custom choice that includes five pizza toppings, sauce and cheese. ($5.99 for small, two sizes in between and an extra large at $13.49.) "We deliver everything on our menu, and everything is hot," Neil said. "There's no way to shortcut the process. Nothing is nuked, and nothing is cooked on a stove. Everything goes in the oven." Fox's Pizza Den is located just a short distance from Hwy. 40, off Hwy. K at 1120 Technology Drive #119. The restaurant has seating for 20, provides carryout and delivery, and is open seven days a week. Hours are Mon. - Thurs. 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Fri. 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sat. noon to 11 p.m.; and Sunday, noon to 9 p.m. Call Fox's Pizza Den in O'Fallon at 636-300-0900 to place your order. |
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Pizza
franchises are all around us, but when it came time for Neil Hilke and
his brothers Marty and Don to take a new path in life, they just were
not ready for the status quo.
