First Look: Pieology in ‘Āina Haina

This new build-your-own-pizza chain offers sizeable, affordable pies—with unlimited toppings—in just five minutes.

March 29, 2016

Kawehi Haug,

You can make your own pizzas—for just $10.95 with unlimited toppings!—at Pieology, which recently opened in the ʻĀina Haina Shopping Center.

Photos: Catherine Toth Fox

It just so happened to be Pi Day the day we walked into Pieology. A coincidental meeting of two things we love: pizza and geekery. It wasn’t long before that part of the fun gave way to the real fun stuff.

Pieology, Hawai‘i’s first outpost of a national chain of fast-casual pizza eateries, opened in mid-February in the ‘Āina Haina Shopping Center. It’s a franchise, but the O‘ahu location is locally owned and operated, and it’s the first in a planned Pieology empire that will include 15 to 20 additional locations statewide in the next five years.

We say bring it on, because if there’s something we like better than fast-food pizza that’s not from a food court, it’s fast-food pizza we design ourselves and is baked while we watch.

Pieology is to bistro-style pizza what Subway is to deli sandwiches. You pick your crust (white, whole wheat, gluten free), you pick one of five sauces (red, alfredo, buffalo, pesto, barbecue), your cheese (everything from classic mozz to gorgonzola to vegan mozz), and finally you pick from a long list of meat and veggies. Your pizza then gets put in a big, super-powered pizza oven that bakes it in five minutes. If they let us, next time we’ll ask for an extra few minutes under the fire—the crust, though thin, is still a bit doughy after just five minutes.

There you have it: your own custom pizza.

We loaded this pie up with pepperoni, spinach, mushrooms, olives and cheese over pesto and olive oil.

The pizzas are 11-and-a-half inches in diameter, which is a decent size for one person. And it’s just $10.95 for a pie you build yourself with as many—or as few—toppings of your choice. (The chain offers signature pies, such as the Mad To Meat You and Rustic Veggie, that run between $8.95 to $10.95, if you don’t want to think.)

We suggest adding a salad (that you can also design yourself) and making it a meal for two. We also suggest getting a couple of beers (or a glass of wine) and making it a party.

We love a fast-food place with a liquor license. Yes. Please.

A pizza 100-percent inspired by your beautiful mind (want to put Spam on it? Do it!), a cold Maui Brewing Co. beer and $20 in your pocket? You got this. It’s the science of smart pizza-eating, and we know better than to question science.

Pieology, 820 W. Hind Drive, ‘Āina Haina, 377-1364, pieology.com