If anyone can get positively philosophical about pizza, it's George Wolfe.
“It is a food that is shared and I really like that,” says the namesake of Wolfie's Pizza Hearth, in Freeport, Armstrong County. “It's like breaking bread with the world, one slice at a time.”
This is a man who is in love with his job, one who signs his notes, “Make pizza, not war.” The lifelong Freeport resident, whose other passion is music, has been in the business since 1993 and he can't imagine a better job.
“I get to walk to work, make great food and see old and new customers, friends and loved ones every day and fellow musicians, some of the best from the Pittsburgh area. What an awesome way to live,” says Wolfe, 52.
Wolfie's sixth move in February, around the corner to an expanded space, is his “dream come true,” he says. It allows him and co-owner Ryan Zukowski to have their first, true sit-down restaurant, which has tripled the customer base, and enough room to host BYOB open jams and bands in the evenings. Performances are open to all ages.
Customers step into a comfortable, welcoming, living-room atmosphere, complete with couch and re-purposed tables and chairs, framed covers of Rolling Stone magazine and other collectibles on the wall, as well as a display case of vintage instruments, that some have compared to a South Side or Shadyside club, rather than a traditional pizza shop.
After debuting in Brackenridge in 1993, in a space that previously served at various times as an ice-cream stand and bait shop, “Wolfie's” went on to other lives in Butler Township (another former ice cream stand), and in spaces in Freeport that had previously been a fruit market, flower shop, grocery and even a pizza place. “They all have been attempts at trying my best at doing what is right for our customers,” Wolfe says.
He is making his shop available Mondays (when he is closed) as a community-activity space; and has plans for monthly outdoor concerts next to the shop during the summer. Wolfie's has moved outdoors on summer Sundays for cookouts, with a menu (from half-chickens, baked potatoes and baked beans to a pig roast) that will change from week to week.
His vision for the restaurant: Make the best food possible, homemade when feasible, emphasizing quality ingredients, and add the music and art to offer an experience that is more than just a place to eat.
Pizzas, burgers, hoagies, salads and more are on the menu. Pizzas range from $5.99 to $13.99; specialty pies, $12.99-$21.99.
A customer favorite is an Italian hoagie, “done without cutting corners,” for $6.49 to $8.49. It has capicola, top-of-the-line hard salami and pepperoni, topped with fresh-shredded whole-milk mozzarella cheese and the shop's own Italian dressing.
Wolfie's Pig Pie, which he invented two years before he opened his first business, is a shop classic, with the 12 cuts ($21.99) weighing in at just under 5 pounds. It contains Wolfie's signature sauce, along with cheese and Italian meat, topped with another pizza brushed with garlic butter and covered with more cheese.
The shop's fryers, delayed in the move, are to arrive very soon, allowing Wolfe to return the popular wings and fresh, deep-fried mushrooms to the menu.
Wolfie's Pizza Hearth, 211 Fifth St., Freeport, is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; noon to 5 p.m. summer Sunday cookouts. Details: 724-295-3380; www.facebook.com/WolfiesPizza
Rex Rutkoski is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-226-4664 or rrutkoski@tribweb.com
