Pizza Today - September 2021 - 59

Adapt from the Jump
Just as the Ledfords prepared to
open the freestanding location in
spring of 2020, a global pandemic
halted indoor dining. With the new
location built on its indoor dining
experience, Catch-a-Fire's opening
was postponed until July 2020.
Catch-a-Fire repositioned itself
as a carryout spot for pizza and beer.
Stocked with regional and in-state
beers and California and Italian
wines, the to-go operation held steady
until they could seat people inside at
limited capacity more than a month
after opening. Catch-a-Fire was able
to lean on its large patio, outdoor
lounge and airy indoor/outdoor garage
doors.
But cold weather soon came, and
Jeff and Melissa had to get creative.
They filled their patio with outdoor
garden igloos that are heated, lighted,
equipped with bluetooth speakers for
customers to create their own music
mix and can accommodate up to eight
people comfortably. The igloos were
a hit. With Cincinnati's prevailing
winters, Jeff says, they will use the
igloos post-pandemic.
A New Era
As Pizza Today visited the Blue
Ash location in July, the city had lifted
restrictions on seating and Catcha-Fire
could operate as it was built
to, a full-service dine-in experience.
The restaurant is split between the
bar and dining area. The interior has
upscale features mixed with warm
color tones and a visible Bob Marley
vibe. The showstopper is its open
kitchen featuring two massive woodburning
ovens. With a full wall of
garage doors in both the dining area
and bar, it provides an indoor/outdoor
feel. An oversized outdoor fireplace
splits the patio table seating and
lounge area. The bustling patio faces
a busy Kenwood Avenue, giving the
restaurant plenty of street marketing
exposure.
The menu at Blue Ash diverges a bit
from the Oakley location. In addition
to the creative meat and veggie pizza
options at the MadTree spot, Jeff says,
they've been able to add more Italian
classics at Blue Ash.
The Oakley location features pizzas
like the Lively Up Yourself with fireroasted
red sauce, bacon, prosciutto,
pineapple, Peppadew, Happy Amber
BBQ, four cheeses and scallion.
There is also the Natural Mystic with
traditional red sauce, roasted tomato,
basil, nut-free pesto, fresh mozzarella
and sea salt. Blue Ash's Italian Classics
menu features the Disco Devil with
fire-roasted red sauce, cappicola, red
onion, fresh mozzarella, oregano, chili
flakes and chili oil.
" As we were designing this place
and figuring out who we are over the
years, we've always experimented with
different things and tried different
foods and we have a very culinary
focused team behind us, " says Jeff,
who has an extensive background as a
chef. " Melissa and I, we love playing
around with different things. So, when
we opened up here, it's always our
intention to do more than just pizza.
We want to be a wood-fired restaurant
that does really awesome pizza. We're
going to have some different entrees
pop up regularly that you might not
expect from a pizzeria. "
Catch-a-Fire recently launched a
brunch program. " That was our first
foray into some very non-traditional
pizzeria items, " Jeff says.
Jeff and Melissa actually delayed
the rollout of the weekend brunch by
a month so they could get a handle
on the employee crunch that many
restaurants are experiencing.
Staffing Up
The Ledfords say they are now able
to staff at levels they need for the two
locations. To make it through the
hiring crisis, they initiated a wordof-mouth
campaign, hiring bonuses,
referral bonuses and a 20-percent
wage increase.
Catch-a-Fire fared better than most
and Jeff and Melissa credit that to
their company culture. " Our culture
is really strong, " Melissa says. " It's
about positivity and taking care of
each other, teamwork and all of those
good things. It's in a very sincere and
authentic way. We're not going to be
like corporate. It just comes from that
kind of place, and I think it makes a
difference. "
Jeff continues, " It's our management
and our people in leadership who are
walking the walk and continuing to
pass that along. "
Catch-a-Fire's leadership team
has been critical to its growth. " A lot
of our managers have been with us
since the truck days and the original
location at MadTree, " Melissa says.
" We're very much all about finding
those strengths in people and
promoting them in a direction where
they are going to fit. "
The culture will be critical as the
Ledfords look to grow again. The
next Catch-a-Fire is already in the
works in Lebanon, Ohio. " We're
kind of ambitious like that, " Jeff says.
" Within a month or two of opening
here, we were already kind of making
announcements for the next spot
which is fortunately taking plenty
of time. " Typically, operators look to
speed up the growth timeline. But
with the uncertainty of the past year,
the Ledfords are content with the
slower rollout.
The couple saw a void in the
Lebanon market that was ripe for
their concept. " Part of the vision is
some kind of amalgamation of what
we've created here in Blue Ash and
what we have over at MadTree, " Jeff
says. " It's going to be a big space,
about twice the size of (Blue Ash). "
When asked about the future vision
of Catch-a-Fire, Jeff and Melissa
are not limiting the concept to
southwestern Ohio.
DENISE GREER is Executive Editor at
Pizza Today.
SEPTEMBER 2021 / PIZZATODAY.COM / 59
http://www.PIZZATODAY.COM
Pizza Today - September 2021

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