Pizza Today - September 2021 - 57

we did. We hit it off. Our two teams
just kind of jived, our staff and their
staff; our food; and the way we are
business like-minded in a lot of ways. "
What started as parking the food
truck in MadTree's lot turned into
becoming a permanent fixture inside
of the original MadTree location. " It
took a long time to get our tiny little
space built inside, " Melissa says of
the 350-square-foot restaurant inside
MadTree. " It was February of 2015
that we opened in their MadTree 1.0,
that was their original location on
Kennedy Avenue. "
But after Catch-a-Fire opened at
MadTree, the bustling brewery was
ready to expand in a major way into
an $18 million, 50,000-square-foot
complex featuring a taproom, massive
brewing operation, outdoor beer
garden, private special events spaces
and the 3,000-square-foot Catch-aFire
in 2017.
" The grandeur of the taproom area
at MadTree, it's large, it's open, it's
spacious, " Jeff says. " It's a lot of garage
doors so they have a lot of open-air
feel. Our kitchen over there is very
much an exhibition kitchen. When
you walk in the main entrance and
look left, we are right there with three
giant ovens. "
With the new opportunity came a
test of their operational efficiency and
company culture. " We thought in our
best guess we're going to go to this
new place and it would be awesome
if we did twice as much business as
we're doing (at MadTree 1.0) and
within the first couple of weeks we
were doing three times as much or
more and our staff went from a dozen
people to like 50 people very quickly. "
With a huge footprint inside of
the expansive MadTree complex, the
Ledfords had dialed in the highvolume
operation and quickly became
among America's highest grossing
independent pizzerias on the 2019
Hot 100 Independent Pizzerias list.
Striking While the Iron Is Hot
Catch-a-Fire had cemented his
reputation for wood-fired pizza in
Cincinnati. The Ledfords put the
wheels into motion to open a new
standalone restaurant. " We've always
been pretty ambitious and driven, "
Melissa says. " So once we had gotten
settled into the bigger space at
MadTree, we started thinking about
it. We knew that was the next thing.
It was just a matter of where and
when and how. "
The Ledfords searched for that
perfect piece of land to build another
Catch-a-Fire from the ground
up. They had their sights on the
neighborhood where the food truck
got its start, Blue Ash, a thriving,
close-knit city within the metro
Cincinnati area.
The demolition and new
construction took over a year. " That's
not including us doing the research,
finding the location and purchasing
the property, " Melissa says.
SEPTEMBER 2021 / PIZZATODAY.COM / 57

http://www.PIZZATODAY.COM

Pizza Today - September 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pizza Today - September 2021

Commentary
Digital
Conversation
Mike's Monthly Tip
Man on the Street
Building Blocks
Tony's Trending Recipe
Knead to Know
Destinations
Sustainability Pays
Heat Preferences
Clean Ice
Cheese Pairings
Desserts that Sell
Booze-free Beverages
Tortellini
On the Road: Catcha-Fire Pizza, Cincinnati, OH
Tipping Trends
Product Showcase
Pizza Today Yellow Pages
The Marketplace
Expo Spotlight
Pizza Today - September 2021 - CT1
Pizza Today - September 2021 - CT2
Pizza Today - September 2021 - Cover1
Pizza Today - September 2021 - Cover2
Pizza Today - September 2021 - Commentary
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 4
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 5
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 6
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 7
Pizza Today - September 2021 - Digital
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 9
Pizza Today - September 2021 - Conversation
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 11
Pizza Today - September 2021 - Mike's Monthly Tip
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 13
Pizza Today - September 2021 - Man on the Street
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 15
Pizza Today - September 2021 - Building Blocks
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 17
Pizza Today - September 2021 - Tony's Trending Recipe
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 19
Pizza Today - September 2021 - Knead to Know
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 21
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 22
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 23
Pizza Today - September 2021 - Destinations
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 25
Pizza Today - September 2021 - Sustainability Pays
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 27
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 28
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 29
Pizza Today - September 2021 - Heat Preferences
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 31
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 32
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 33
Pizza Today - September 2021 - Clean Ice
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 35
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 36
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 37
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 38
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 39
Pizza Today - September 2021 - Cheese Pairings
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 41
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 42
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 43
Pizza Today - September 2021 - Desserts that Sell
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 45
Pizza Today - September 2021 - Booze-free Beverages
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 47
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 48
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 49
Pizza Today - September 2021 - Tortellini
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 050A
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 050B
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 51
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 52
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 53
Pizza Today - September 2021 - On the Road: Catcha-Fire Pizza, Cincinnati, OH
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 55
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 56
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 57
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 58
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 59
Pizza Today - September 2021 - Tipping Trends
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 61
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 62
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 63
Pizza Today - September 2021 - Product Showcase
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 65
Pizza Today - September 2021 - Pizza Today Yellow Pages
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 67
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 68
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 69
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 70
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 71
Pizza Today - September 2021 - The Marketplace
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 73
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 74
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 75
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 76
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 77
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 78
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 79
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 80
Pizza Today - September 2021 - 81
Pizza Today - September 2021 - Expo Spotlight
Pizza Today - September 2021 - Cover3
Pizza Today - September 2021 - Cover4
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