Worthington's chamber welcome arrived after the ovens were already hot. Fired Up Pizza, a family-owned wood-fired restaurant at 5601 N. High St., held its official ribbon cutting on a stretch of High Street that has already changed restaurants more than once.
614NOW reported the ceremony Wednesday, with this note from the Worthington Chamber of Commerce: "Welcome to the neighborhood, Fired Up Pizza! We were excited to celebrate the ribbon cutting for Fired Up Pizza today and officially welcome them to our Worthington business community." The Fired Up team thanked neighbors for the welcome and support and said they were proud to call Worthington home.
From Catering Runs to a Fixed Address
The storefront is the settled version of a business that started on the move. Earlier 614NOW coverage described a brand that began as a catering service, owned and operated by Michael Rice, a former Cameron Mitchell Restaurants executive chef.
By late March, the first brick-and-mortar was already open. Breakfast With Nick reported that Fired Up had spent years as a mobile pizza kitchen and a farmers-market stall before taking the Worthington shop. The chamber used the same origin story in Wednesday's welcome: a market favorite, now fixed on High Street.
What Comes Out of the Oven
The kitchen's own account is specific about the dough and the fire. On its about page, Fired Up Pizza says it uses flour and tomatoes imported from Italy, hand-rolled dough and scratch sauces, and cooks in a Four Grand Mere wood-fired oven.
The spread described around the spring debut was already wider than a single pie. Breakfast With Nick counted more than 10 pizzas, plus a side salad, wood-fired pizza sandwiches and cannolis. The chamber's listing matches that menu and adds a small Italian market.
The restaurant describes the Worthington location as pairing a full Italian market with dine-in, takeout, delivery and a Heat & Eat program. Same address, two ways to take the food home: ready now, or meant for later.
The Building's Last Two Tenants
High Street has hosted a fired crust here before, just not this one. The Columbus Dispatch reported that Natalie's Coal Fired Pizza occupied the location for 11 years. Most recently, the address housed Sahara Lux, an Afro-Caribbean restaurant.
Coal fire for more than a decade, then a Caribbean menu, then wood-fired pizza and an Italian market. The building did not stay in one lane.
The Hours Now Listed
Wednesday's report lists Fired Up Pizza as open Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. It does not publish Sunday or Monday hours.
That window is later, and longer on the weekend, than the schedule attached to the spring debut. Breakfast With Nick then reported a plan for Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. A first visit timed to the ribbon cutting should follow the November listing, not the March one.
