Not everyone makes a career out of pizza, but Noce Gourmet Pizza owner Jay Tomlinson has.For seven years he has built his business and clientele…
Not everyone makes a career out of pizza, but Noce Gourmet Pizza owner Jay Tomlinson has.
For seven years he has built his business and clientele in Chardon, based on his tasty New York-style creations.
Recently, Tomlinson’s light, tender, crunchy, flaky, hand-made crust and his imaginative combination of quality toppings earned him the Best Tasting Pizza in all of Northeast Ohio Grand Prize from the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
What the title lacks in monetary reward it makes up for with longevity. Tomlinson said he will have bragging rights for five years before another contest is held.
Last Friday, the day after receiving notice of the grand prize, strangers were already filtering into his restaurant at 125 Main Street on the west side of Chardon Square, eager to try out such a highly-rated pie.
With a row of Noce’s most popular pizzas available at the counter, a customer can expect to taste a delicious slice within a few minutes.
The unprepossessing front of Noce hides a bright, new and fragrant interior with friendly faces and an open kitchen. Visible to anyone who comes to the counter for lunch or dinner, the kitchen is part of Tomlinson’s desire to make his customers completely confident in his product.
Diners like to see pizza being twirled and topped, observe the cleanliness and listen to the employees, he said.
Noce is a family business with three generations involved.
“Seven years ago me and Mom opened it up,” he said, adding they borrowed the name from Karen Tomlinson’s mother, Verneda Noce.
Her picture hangs in the entry of the restaurant, reminding the owner of his roots.
Over the years, Tomlinson has taken ownership of the operation, but Karen helps out now and then, he said. In his pre-Noce days, he worked at pizza shops in several states, traveling out west to gain exposure to different pizza cultures.
Every area of the U.S. has different toppings and he has put that experience to good use at Noce.
“We have a new pizza every day,” Tomlinson said.
Last Friday, he’d concocted a pie topped with garlic-olive oil base, basil, mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, goat cheese, portobello and shiitake mushrooms and basil. Typically, the daily special has no name.
“I can’t come up with a name every day,” he said.
But he does have 14 other pizzas on the menu with descriptive names, Rustic Roma being his signature pizza. The salads are not as numerous, but he favors locally-grown ingredients and is very proud of his salad dressings.
“Our Caesar’s outrageous and our balsamic (Italian) is really good, too,” Tomlinson said, adding all dressings are refrigerated all the time and anything remaining at the end of the day is thrown out.
He credits his loyal customers for submitting letters to the contest so Joe Crea from the metropolitan newspaper came to visit and taste his Thai chicken pizza, traditional cheese pizza and the Rustic Roma.
Tomlinson said he is very grateful to his employees, who were carrying on as usual when the columnist came through the door.
“I was in California on vacation,” Tomlinson said, adding their dedication to service and the restaurant’s creative structure won the day.
“They’re great kids. I couldn’t do this without them,” he said.
Creativity comes naturally to the owner, who has struggled with dyslexia all his life.
He thanks his Mentor High School keyboarding teacher who, seeing his student’s predicament, recommended he reschedule to an art class.
Today, Tomlinson is a member of the Cleveland Pottery Cooperative and most of Noce’s employees are artistically inclined. He has a photographer, a musician and a dancer on his staff.
“They’re awesome. They work here and do art on the side,” he said.
The combination seems to be working because Noce is popular, even more so in the last year since Tomlinson acquired a license to serve beer and wine, and the pizza-to-go traffic has grown, as well.
“There’s a one-hour wait on Friday nights,” he said, adding he expects his clientele will become larger with the regional title on his wall.
Building his business is a distinct possibility, and it is a challenge he savors.
“I think its going to be really fun,” Tomlinson said.
