Ogden Valley Pizza comes to Ogden City
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- Mckinnon Johnson, Amy Johnson and Ryan Johnson at Ogden Valley Pizza, 216 E. 12th St. in Ogden.
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- The Flying Tomato pizza refers to the nickname of Olympic snowboarder Shaun White.
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- The Frontside Rodeo is named for a snowboarding move. It’s packed with pepperoni, ham, sausage, bell peppers, onions, olives and mushrooms.
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- The IZ pizza (named for Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwoʻole) is topped with pineapple chunks, smoked ham, onions and bacon.
Ogden Valley Pizza’s menu is filled with quirky names. Each name has a story, as told by Ryan and Amy Johnson, who recently expanded their Eden pizzeria to a second store in Ogden.
The top-seller — pepperoni pizza — is called a Weezer, after Ryan Johnson’s favorite band.
The second best-seller, the Frontside Rodeo, refers to a snowboarding trick, “because there are a lot of snowboarders in Ogden Valley,” said Ryan Johnson. It’s what most pizza places would call a “supreme,” since it’s packed with pepperoni, ham, sausage, bell peppers, onions, olives and mushrooms.
Then there’s the Diaz, or cheese pizza. Ryan Johnson is “100% sure” he saw Cameron Diaz at a store in Eden, still beautiful without any makeup or Hollywood frills. Apparently, plain cheese pizza is beautiful, too.
The Flying Tomato refers to Olympian Shaun White’s nickname. The “White” alfredo base is studded with halved grape tomatoes, chunks of chicken, and sliced mushrooms and spinach.
The Lindsay is named for their daughter, who pushed for a vegetarian pizza on the menu — peppers, onions, olives, mushrooms and tomatoes.
Other quirky names include the pineapple-topped IZ, for Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwoʻole; Fat-Bottomed Cheese Bread, and Amy’s Yoga Pant Salad. You can also order a Harvey Dent — different toppings on each half — a nod to Batman villain Two-Face.
They used to have a menu board explaining all the names, and “people would stand for 15 minutes reading it and laughing,” Ryan Johnson said.
There’s also a story behind the name of the pizzeria. When Ryan and Amy Johnson decided to open it in 2016, they thought to call it “Hail Mary Pizza.” A football-loving family, they felt it was a “Hail Mary pass” to sink all their resources into it — “every last cent,” as Ryan Johnson says.
But they settled on “Ogden Valley Pizza,” to designate the community they were serving.
“We wanted something to let our neighbors know how much this area means to us,” said Ryan Johnson. And at the time, they had no plans to expand anywhere else.
But their “Hail Mary pass” proved so successful that last November they expanded to Ogden City. The second takeout pizzeria, at 216 E. 12th St., is run by their son, Mckinnon Johnson. Son-in-law Jake Johnson is the company’s general manager and runs the Eden location.
“I wanted to give my family something to work with and be a part of,” said Ryan Johnson.
Between Ryan and Amy, their son, Bridger, daughter Lindsay and son-in-law Jake, the Johnsons have over 25 years in the pizza industry. When Eden’s longtime restaurant Alpine Pizza closed its doors in 2016, the Johnsons decided to fill that gap.
“We wanted a better pizza option in our hometown, so we started a takeaway and delivery business,” Ryan Johnson said. “We kept the menu simple, so we could focus on quality and flavor. We pride ourselves in using the highest-quality ingredients we can get our hands on.”
They use local ingredients when possible. The dough’s flour comes from Big J Milling in Brigham City.
“Our best product is our dough,” said Amy Johnson. “We make it every night, and that’s what sets us apart from other places.”
Her favorite pizza is the BBQ Chicken. It uses Miss Essie’s BBQ Sauce, made in Murray with a 100-year-old family recipe that originated in Arkansas.
“Their sauce is just amazing,” she said.
Ryan Johnson’s favorite is the Weezer (pepperoni) with olives added.
He said about half their customers will order a “house pie” and then add their favorite toppings. “People love to customize.”
Ogden Valley Pizza offers a “gluten-friendly” crust. Although the crust itself is gluten-free, the Johnsons can’t guarantee it won’t be contaminated by all the regular flour floating around in the kitchen. Hence, the “gluten-friendly” term.
“I don’t want to take someone’s health in my hands and try to guarantee that it will be gluten-free,” said Ryan Johnson.
The Eden store does its own local deliveries. The Ogden store currently uses DoorDash, with plans to start its own deliveries once it has staff to do it.
Currently, the stores both offer a lunch special of a free soda with purchase of any 8-inch pizza. Prices start at $5.
IF YOU GO
Ogden Valley Pizza
Locations: 2612 N. Highway 162 #2, Eden; 216 E. 12th St. #B, Ogden
Contact: Eden: 385-205-6138; Ogden: 801-528-6844; ogdenvalleypizza.com
Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday-Saturday
Prices: $5 to $18 or more, depending on pizza size and toppings
