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ERICAMARCUSBYerica.marcus@newsday.com

There’s hardly a pizza trendthat Long Island hasn’tembraced — Neapolitan,Sicilian, bar pie, coal oven,wood oven, chicken Parm,

mac-and-cheese — we even inventedgrandma pie. But now a new contenderis challenging the local pizzeriaestablishment.

Call it fast-casual pizza or DIY pie,these venues all have the same setup,familiar from Chipotle Mexican Grill:You face an associate across a counterwho is directed to assemble your pie.First, choose a crust and then, as youprogress down the line, sauce, cheeseand toppings. Create your own pie, orgo with one of the shop’s alreadycomposed options. Once finished, the11-inch pie goes into a very hot ovenand is ready in less than five minutes.Even with unlimited toppings, no pie ismore than $10.

The first LI outpost of these Brave

New Pizzerias was Blaze Pizza,which opened in West Babylon inJuly 2014. Now there are three na-tional chains on L.I.: Blaze (threelocations), PizzaRev (four) and PizzaStudio (one), plus a homegrownplayer, Piecraft.

Chris Dolan, who owns Piecraft inIsland Park with Thomas Corning,conceded that Long Island has anentrenched pizza culture. “I grew upin Long Beach, and three days didn’tgo by when I didn’t have a slice fromGino’s,” he said. But he and Corning,seasoned restaurateurs whose ven-tures included Café Laguna in LongBeach and Olive Oil’s in PointLookout, were nevertheless drawn tothe concept, founded on the WestCoast.

“In a traditional restaurant,” he said,“if a family of eight comes in, all thesewheels need to work in unison. It takesa lot of work and a lot of skill to haveeveryone seated and served.” But whenthe partners looked at Chipotle, theysaw a way to serve fresh food quickly,

with much lower labor costs.At Piecraft, dough and sauce are

made, vegetables prepped every morn-ing before opening. “And the collegekids can assemble the pies in front ofthe customers.”

Fast-casual pizzerias would not workwithout a mechanical means of shapingthe dough. Dolan noted that hand-stretching pizza dough takes a greatdeal of skill — and commands a higherwage. And so all of these places havemachines that press pre-portioneddough into uniformly thin rounds.

With one location in Island Park andanother slated to open in Wantagh inOctober, Piecraft is the outlier DIYpizza outlet; the others are chainfranchises.

Mike Tochluk and his partners atPizzaRev are bullish on its future here,and plan to add at least four morelocations to their four existing ones.“We know there’s a lot of competitionhere,” he said, “but we believe thatLong Islanders will respond to thisnew way of doing it.”

newsday.comView our guides and listings

of LI restaurants atnewsday.com/restaurants

PHOTO GALLERY: LI’s best hidden restaurants

Eric Behrmann and Demetra Zografakis of Smithtown design their custom pie at Piecraft in Island Park.

Go down the lineand pick out yourown toppings

webspecialGet a full plate of Marge Perry’sThree Simple recipes — from applesto zucchini.

newsday.com/food

cheapeatsWant a great meal at a decent price?Critic Melissa McCart’s reviews fitthe bill.

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feedmeRestaurant openings, closings andculinary events — get the latest dishevery day on our blog.

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TOP 10 PIZZA PICKS FOR 2016, B10

DIY pizza

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BLAZE PIZZA] 1047 NY-27A, West Babylon,631-620-3326] Westfield South Shore, 1701 SunriseHwy., Bay Shore, 631-666-1100] 213 Broadway Mall, Hicksville,516-433-5400

Price of pie: $8.25 for unlimitedtoppings and “signature” pies; $5.45 for“simple” (cheese, sauce) pies; $2additional for thicker crust; $3additional for gluten-free crustDrinks: Beer and wine, soft drinksAlso: Salads and s’more pies (likemoon pies)

Founded in 2011 and based inPasadena, California, this high-profilechain boasts LeBron James as a fran-chise partner and, in 2015, was charac-terized as “the next Chipotle” byBloomberg Business News. With asimple tomato sauce and well-devel-oped crust, the pies here most closelyachieve what you might find in aNaples-style pizzeria. “Signature” piesinclude Red Vine, which has freshmozzarella, tomato sauce, cherrytomatoes, Parmesan, basil and olive oildrizzle, and White Top, which hascream sauce, mozzarella, bacon, garlic,oregano and arugula.

PIECRAFT4585 Austin Blvd., Island Park,516-889-2168

Price of pie: $6.50 for regular(whole-wheat) crust; $1 addi-tional for spicy-firecrackercrust; $3 additional for gluten-free. Each regular topping is 99cents, and after three there is noadditional charge. “Gourmet”toppings such as grilled shrimpand Prosciutto di Parma are$1.99 to $2.99. “Craft-y Spe-cialty” pies are $7.99 to $12.99.Drinks: Beer and wine, tequilaand vodka cocktails, soft drinksAlso: Soups, wings, meatballs,salads, quinoa bowls and milkshakes

Founded in 2015 by LongIslanders Chris Dolan andThomas Corning, Piecraft has apizza-plus menu (wings, meat-balls, quinoa bowls) largelydriven by health trends. With itslimited bar and gastropub decor,it feels more like a restaurant.Toppings include burrata, pesto,Gorgonzola and shaved Parme-san. Piecraft also has a separatepreparation area and oven forgluten-free pies.

PIZZAREV] 408 Jericho Tpke., Syosset, 516-921-1777] 1088 The Arches Circle, Deer Park, 631-232-2229] 694 Motor Pkwy., Hauppauge, 631-388-5336] 2034 Green Acres Rd., W Space #0030, Valley Stream, 516-599-0555

Price of pie: $8.25 for unlimited toppings; $5.99 to $8.25 for “Our Way” pizzas; $2additional for gluten-free crustDrinks: Beer and wine, soft drinksAlso: Craft your own salads and dessert pizza

Founded in 2013 and based in Westlake, California, PizzaRev outlets have anindustrial-barn-chic feel that may remind you of Chipotle. The thin crust isvery thin; traditionalists may want to opt for the double crust. Among toppings:Canadian bacon, vegan sausage, pineapple and fennel seeds. “Our Way” piesinclude pulled pork with fried onions and jalapeños.

PIZZA STUDIO911 Broadhollow Rd., Suite 110, Farmingdale, 631-777-8088

Price of pie: $7.99 for unlimited toppings or “Studio Masterpieces;” $2 addi-tional for gluten-free crustDrinks: Soft drinksAlso: Salads and cookies

Founded in 2013 and based in Calabasas, California, Pizza Studio offersa modest decor, quick service and an unparalleled variety of crusts —traditional, rosemary herb, whole grain and flaxseed, firecracker, glutenfree.

Among dozens of toppings are banana peppers, caramelized onions, sweetchicken sausage and Old Bay seasoning. “Studio Masterpiece” pies includeThe Beast with pepperoni, bacon, meatball, smoked ham and spicy porksausage.

Liam Conners prepares a pizza with a thin crust, red sauce, Italian cheese,crumbled Italian sausage, pepperoni and bacon for Javell Mathieu at PizzaRev.

HERE AND ON THE COVER Blaze Pizza lets the customers do the pickin’.Above, pizza crafter Arnold Flores of Brentwood at work.

Mohammed Islam, left, of Queens and Chris Veras of the Bronx confer withPizza Studio’s Vanessa Ramirez.

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