By Andy Furman
NKyTribune staff writer
Finally – finally open for business. How can you tell? Just smell the fresh brick-oven pizzas being cooked at 708 Monmouth Street, Newport.
A good breeze can bring that aroma to their former location at 336 Monmouth.
“Finally, is the word,” owner Cindy Hahn told the Northern Kentucky Tribune. “We finally got our open, directly from Italy.”
Yes, it’s big. How big – try this.
“Our pizza parlor, restaurant, bar and outdoor stage stretch from, Monmouth to Orchard Street,” she said.
Want more?
Strong’s Brick Oven Pizzeria of Newport has gone national. Ben Maller, talk-show host on Fox Sports Radio – who can be heard nightly 2-6 a.m. (ET) on 1360 AM locally and Sirius/XM 83 – is planning a visit.
And he’s chatting it up nightly on his show.
“I usually like to make several trips a year across the country to visit my audience,” Maller told the Tribune. “I chose Strong’s Brick Oven Pizzeria, and the feedback has been tremendous.”
Hahn agrees. “We’re getting phone calls from residents in Dayton, Ohio as well as the Cincinnati area, asking what time Ben will be here.
“He told us he plans to visit on Saturday the 25th from about 2 p.m.-5 p.m.”
It was a visit to Strong’s several years ago that got Hahn – and Steve Glacken, Director of Operations — involved in owning a pizza parlor.
“We’re Real Estate agents,” Hahn said. “We went to eat at Strong’s after a Sunday Open House. Honestly it was magic.”
Hahn said she grew up always wanting to own a pizza restaurant, but, “I never thought I would.”
After that Sunday lunch, Christian Strong – the company’s namesake — she said, listed the shop, then at 336 Monmouth Street. “When some possible purchasers wanted to remove the oven, I told Steve, ‘Why not us”?
Steve does a lot of Commercial Real Estate, Hahn said, and that’s how they learned about the listing.
Strong’s Brick Oven Pizzeria opened on Monmouth – 336 – in 2012 – Hahn and Glacken took over 10 years later.
Their popularity outgrew the first location, and the move to 708 Monmouth was on.
“We now have room for 160 inside seating,” Glacken said, “”Plus we have a patio and stage areas that seats 40 more.”
Strong’s Brick Oven Pizzeria serves a full Strong’s menu.
“We didn’t have our full menu at the former location,” Hahn said. “We now have chicken wings, and serve everything that all other Strong’s locations have.”
Glacken says their most popular dish is – Mad Dog – which consists of chicken, bacon, jalapenos, cheese, hot sauce and ranch on a pizza.
“Our bread, dough, and sauces – vodka sauce is a favorite — are all made fresh daily,” Hahn said. “And there are no sugars or preservatives in our food.”
And if you’re wondering, Brick Oven Piazza is a style of pizza baked directly on the hearth of a high-temperature oven constructed from fire bricks or stone, often reaching temperatures of 700-1,000 degrees (F).
This intense, even heat – often generated by wood or gas – cooks pizza in under two minutes, creating a signature crispy, charred crust, smoky flavor, and perfectly melted toppings.
“We’re just a pizza joint with a bar,” she says.
As for Hahn and Glacken are keeping their day jobs in Real Estate. You never know, Cindy Hahn may be looking for an ice cream parlor next.