QSR December 2022

DEPARTMENT ONES TO WATCH

ROCA The cofounder of a casual icon has a new, differentiated pizza brand built for scale. B Y B E N C O L E Y

ROCA name. The last two letters stand for the inf luence of California and its farm to-table ingredients. Some menu examples include Bell Pepper (tomato sauce, tomato sauce, roasted red and yellow peppers, balsamic glaze, chopped basil, and evoo) , Italian Sausage Potato (Yukon Gold pota toes, housemade Italian sausage, mozzarella, fried rosemary, and evoo) , and Pepperoni Hot Honey (tomato sauce, pepperoni, moz zarella, gorgonzola, andMike’s Hot Honey). Flour is organic and all meats and proteins are free of antibiotics and hormones. Pizza is offered by the cut, half, or full pan. “That’s something that we did at CPK which is, pizza is a canvas that you can paint on, so we can do toppings that are not traditional toppings, and I say CPK intro duced barbecue chicken pizza to the world,” Rosenfeld says. “It introduced Thai chicken pizza to the world. As it turns out, when we put barbecue chicken and our recipe on this crust, and we put Thai chicken on this crust, in my mind, it’s the best version that I’ve ever had. People who are tasting it are saying the same thing.” Rosenfeld’s initial objective was to essen tial ly recreate CPK with a ful l-service wood-burning oven, but he recognized the traditional Neapolitan or New York pizza didn’t travel well—and this was before the pandemic, when the rise of takeout and delivery was noticeably surfacing. The Roman style, however, is the most portable pizza product Rosenfeld’s seen. In late May 2021, ROCA debuted as a pop-up experience at The Americana at Brand in Glendale, California. The plan was for the temporary store to last a fewmonths, but the concept was the victim of the pan demic and struggled to get building permits. So the pop-up lasted a year, and in that time, ROCA was able to develop its team and menu. Yelp reviews were between 4.5 and 5 stars the entire time. CONTINUED ON PAGE 62

small rectangular pieces. “When I was there and introduced to it, I understood that there were several arti sans in Rome taking this traditional street food and taking it to a new level,” Rosenfeld says. “As I started to study about Roman pizza, I really learned it has evolved over the last 50 years.” One of the biggest distinctions is hydra tion. For a Neapolitan pizza, there’s 5 pounds of water for every 10 pounds of f lour. Mean while, the Roman pizza calls for eight pounds of water for every 10 pounds of f lour. It’s then placed in the refrigerator and cold fermented for 48–72 hours. Afterward, the pizza is put in an oven that heats from the top and bot tom to remove all moisture. The result is a lighter and airier crust that’s more digestible. That represents the “RO” part of the

FOUNDERS: Rick Rosenfield, Esther Rosenfield HEADQUARTERS: Los Angeles YEAR STARTED: 2021 TOTAL UNITS: Two by early 2023 FRANCHISED UNITS: Zero

TO UNDERSTAND ROCAA NEW FASTCASUAL concept cooked up by California Pizza Kitchen cofounder Rick Rosenfeld and his wife, Esther—onemust start at Roman pizza. The married couple discovered it while on an extended trip to Italy more than a decade ago after Rosenfeld sold CPK. The style is called al taglio, which translates to “pizza by the cut.” Slices are divided into

ROCA

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DECEMBER 2022 | QSR | www.qsrmagazine.com