A New York transplant known for turning cheeseburgers and Korean fried chicken into pizza toppings has set up shop in Longmont. Krave It Pizza & Sandwich Joint, the Queens-born chain famous for what fans call stoner pizza, is now slinging 12-inch pies and specialty slices out of a storefront at 589 S. Hover St., Suite 100.
The restaurant's arrival was reported by Axios, which noted the shop is open daily from 11 a.m. to 11:45 p.m. and offers 12-inch pizzas priced between $18 and $24, along with specialty slices for about $6 each. Krave It Pizza & Sandwich Joint was originally founded in April 2015 by Vishee and Jenna Mandahar in Bayside, Queens, growing from a single neighborhood eatery into a multi-location brand, according to the company's own account on its website.
The menu leans hard into mashup culture. Per the same Axios report, the Desi Boy slice comes topped with Indian-spiced fried chicken and tikka masala aioli, the China King features general tso-style chicken, and the Biggie Mac reimagines a cheeseburger as a pizza. Beyond slices, the shop's menu includes sandwiches, wings, loaded fries and fried Oreos, and it also runs a $10 lunch special with two slices and a drink.
A Viral Reputation Built in Queens
Krave It's over-the-top approach to pizza didn't start in Colorado. The chain built its internet following on outlandish creations like a Birria pizza, while PMQ Pizza Magazine has documented its Fried Oreo dessert pizza built on a cannoli cream crust. The kitchen also offers sauces, while the company highlights its Queens history.
Longmont is not Krave It's only Colorado stop. The brand has a location at 2210 Blake Street in Denver's Ballpark district, directly across from Coors Field, according to Ballpark Denver. That Denver outpost sits across from Coors Field, and the chain also has a Longmont location.
Landing in a Crowded Local Pizza Scene
Krave It's new shop sits in a retail suite within the Target Shopping Center along the Hover Street commercial corridor, a stretch of western Longmont built around heavy signalized-intersection traffic, according to listing details from Brevitas. It's a high-visibility perch, but Krave It is walking into a market that already takes its pizza seriously. Longmont hosted a well-attended pizza festival downtown, with block-long lines.
That festival was organized by Pizza With Purpose, a nonprofit that raises money for hunger-relief groups including Slice Out Hunger and Longmont Food Rescue. Antonio's, one of the festival's founding pizzerias, has also been expanding its own footprint across Longmont, Estes Park and Loveland as part of a broader wave of New York-style pizza growth in Northern Colorado, as Hoodline previously reported.
Krave It also isn't the only outside brand chasing a piece of the Front Range pizza boom. Tony Gemignani's Slice House concept holds multi-unit franchise agreements covering Longmont, Boulder, Denver and Loveland. With Krave It's Hover Street shop now serving daily lunch specials and viral specialty pies, Longmont diners have one more contender to try in an already stacked slice lineup.
