22 Oct 2011 ‘Eat good, do good’ at PITZA 42
by Don Bingham
For a refreshing alternative that is healthy, served fast and affordable with the option of inside or outdoor patio dining, Pitza 42 is a great concept.
You have the option of ordering a menu pizza or salad from the colorful menu boards or creating your own (the calorie content was written in big letters on the menu boards – we ate 500 calories each – not bad at all for the terrific depth of flavor we enjoyed). There are more than 20 fresh pitza toppings and 35 salad toppings from which to choose.
We enjoyed the “Palisades” salad and the Big Fat Greek Pitza. The honey vinaigrette salad dressing was delightfully fresh, an original creation of co-owners Austin and Ashton Samuelson, and the pitza was on whole wheat pita bread, brushed with olive oil and a special blend of Italian herbs and spices. The combination was wonderful!
We ate on the trellis-covered patio in the warm, fall sunshine. It was a totally refreshing break from the norm in the middle of the day, and we still had plenty of time to make necessary appointments and return to work.
The Samuelsons have returned to Arkansas from California, but they got their start in Vilonia and Arkadelphia – both are graduates of Ouachita Baptist University. While working and living in California, Ashton began the delight of preparing pitza samples for Austin’s lunch box. In a short time span, Austin’s work friends began to turn in their order and the rest is history. The concept of “food makes people happy” combined with the compassion for the world’s hungry gave birth to the PITZA 42 concept/dream.
“PITZA 42 customers have an exciting opportunity to help end childhood hunger around the globe,” Ashton said. “The strategy is simple; PITZA 42 will donate the funds necessary to Feed My Starving Children to purchase one meal for every meal that is sold in the restaurant. In essence, every meal is for two (42).
“Childhood starvation and malnutrition is a devastating problem, claiming more than 22,000 lives a day around the world. This has to be stopped, and at PITZA 42 we believe we can all help save lives through the Meal-4-Meal program.”
The morning I visited with Austin and Ashton, they received a phone call from a former out-of-state acquaintance with the news they had been following the progress of PITZA 42 online. Though they were not here to enjoy the cuisine, they wanted to contribute $100 to the PITZA 42 concept, which would in turn provide 400 meals to the hungry! Ashton and Austin were glowing to report that, thus far, PITZA 42 has fed 2,255 meals in just one week’s opening!
Visit their website, pitza42.com, for more information and their menu. And if you’d like to donate more than one meal to Feed My Starving Children, just let them know at checkout how many additional meals you would like to give. Each additional donated meal is only 24 cents.
PITZA 42 is at 2235 Dave Ward Drive (next to Peking Buffet) in Conway and is open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
501 LIFE welcomes PITZA 42 to our culinary offerings for Central Arkansas!
