30 Years of Lupi's and One (Not-So) Secret Ingredient
"That's trust and commitment to local!"
Food as a verb thanks
for sponsoring this series
On March 6, 1996, Lupi's Pizza Pies opened its doors in the heart of downtown Chattanooga.
Back then, it wasn't the downtown we know and love today.
It was incomplete, yet-to-be-formed or imagined.
You can't have Chattanooga of today without the Lupi's of yesterday.
It started 30 years ago this week.
Welcome to Lupi's.
At the time, modern Chattanooga was so young, just a toddler. The Tennessee Aquarium was four years old. The Lookouts' stadium, which will be razed soon for another, had yet to be built.
And downtown's food scene was scant.
"There was no place you could get a slice and a beer," Dorris Shober remembers.
Dorris and then-husband Greg Beairsto had an idea: living in Atlanta at the time, chilling with a draft and slice at Fellini's Pizza, the Notre Dame High grads realizing: hmmm, Chattanooga needs something like this.
"We used to sit down there at Fellini’s and just watch and kind of dream of this," she said. "A pizza place. Chattanooga needs this. We can do this."
Chattanooga's modern food scene, with its James Beard nominations and Michelin awards, was built on the backs of moments like these: two folks wondering, hmmm, what if we ...
With a borrowed KitchenAid, Dorris worked up a recipe for dough, which, three decades later, still remains the same.
It is difficult to put into words the difference this moment has made.
How many millions of Lupi's pizzas have been served since 1996?
"Bragging on Lupi's is as easy as (pizza) pie," said Trevor Haines, owner and founder of Dojo Chattanooga. "Lupi's is my family's happy place. Always fresh, real ingredients and just consistently yummy."
How do you measure the immeasurable impact, the way families and friends feel better because of good pizza? It is a glue within any good city or community.
"My daughter had Lupi's cater her wedding," he said. "It was outstanding."
Dorris and Greg created a pizza place that would help anchor the downtown renaissance.
"By providing a welcoming and iconic dining spot in Chattanooga, you play a vital role in keeping downtown vibrant for locals and tourists alike," said Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly. "Here’s to many more years of serving the community.”
Over time, Lupi's would provide employment for hundreds, if not thousands, of people, especially as its expanded, with restaurants in Cleveland, East Brainerd, Ooltewah and Hixson.
Well ahead of the local food movement, they would facilitate a stronger farmer-restaurant network, as Lupi's relied, supported and selected regional growers for its toppings, meat and flour.
Lupi's became both local and almost punk-rock-ish. Dorris had no business experience. Or restaurant experience.
Yet?
"We were busy from the day we opened," she remembers.
Most of all, it was all offered with such immeasurable and consistent kindness, generosity and love.
"As a farmer, I cannot imagine a better relationship with a restaurant than I had with Lupi's. It was all thanks to Dorris and her staff," said Dr. Robin Fazio.
Years ago, Robin was growing and milling South Georgia wheat. Dorris would purchase his Sonrisa Farm flour for her dough.
"She really wanted my products, featured them prominently in their recipes, and made it so easy for me to sell to her. If I ever had a problem with supply, she worked with me unconditionally," he said.
"She and Lupi's made me want to keep farming, not just for the economic stability of a wholesale account, but because I was proud to have my products in their restaurants."
Plus, she was part of the early restaurant pioneers of downtown, which created the 90s which created the 2000s which led to the Michelin + James Beard climate of today.
"Dorris is a true leader in our community, and I’ve always appreciated how she runs her shop," said Rob Gentry, who launched Big River Grille, Blue Plate and Hello Monty. "She’s become an integral part of our community’s fabric."
Here's another Lupi's story that represents so much.
"Years and years ago ... pretty much the only wholesale customers in town were Greenlife Grocery and Lupi's," said Kelsey Keener of Sequatchie Cove Farm.
Kelsey would haul thousands of pounds of sausage and ground beef straight to Dorris's garage, into the big chest freezers.
She was able to buy in bulk, which was a huge gift to any farmer.
And, it allowed her to stock Lupi's with Sequatchie Cove Farm meat.
But how would Dorris run a bustling restaurant and make sure to pay farmers? You can't be two places at once.
"There was a bulletin board in the garage with a blank check hanging with our name on it," Kelsey remembers. "Now, that's trust and commitment to local!"
"Even to this day, there are very, very few examples of that kind of long-lasting relationship to the farm-to-table restaurant movement, a shining example of what is possible," he said.
"It doesn't take some fancy expensive Michelin star restaurant to pull it off. It just takes having the passion and commitment to the vision."
Over the years, Dorris and her husband John built up their own Flying Turtle Farm, which often supplied produce and meat for Lupi's. And fresh-cut flowers, which Dorris always placed on the countertops and bathrooms.
A couple of years ago, we visited Dorris there. Strolled through her meadows and rows of flowers, saw the spots where she hosted big employee camping parties, met her pigs, which she fed leftover Lupi's slices.
"I want to give my customers the healthiest pizza I can," she told us. "I try to feed my customers the way I feed my family."
Dorris and Greg and the entire Lupi's family, you've made such a loving difference to this region.
Personally, Dorris believed in our Food as a Verb vision from the beginning. She said yes to us before she even met us. And a "yes" like that? We will never forget it.
Just like the rest of you won't forget your Lupi's experience.
My family's go-to happy place ...
She and Lupi's made me want to keep farming ...
A shining example of what's possible ...
An integral part of our community's fabric ...
The ingredients at the core of the Lupi's story, Dorris says, aren't secret at all. They're always available, always ripe for us, always reminding us of what's possible.
"The extreme importance of relationships," she said. "We are all stronger together."
Story ideas, questions, feedback? Interested in partnering with us? Email: david@foodasaverb.com
This story is 100% human generated; no AI chatbot was used in the creation of this content.
food as a verb thanks our sustaining partner:
food as a verb thanks our story sponsor:
Mapleleaf Realco
On March 6, 1996, Lupi's Pizza Pies opened its doors in the heart of downtown Chattanooga.
Back then, it wasn't the downtown we know and love today.
It was incomplete, yet-to-be-formed or imagined.
You can't have Chattanooga of today without the Lupi's of yesterday.
It started 30 years ago this week.
Welcome to Lupi's.
At the time, modern Chattanooga was so young, just a toddler. The Tennessee Aquarium was four years old. The Lookouts' stadium, which will be razed soon for another, had yet to be built.
And downtown's food scene was scant.
"There was no place you could get a slice and a beer," Dorris Shober remembers.
Dorris and then-husband Greg Beairsto had an idea: living in Atlanta at the time, chilling with a draft and slice at Fellini's Pizza, the Notre Dame High grads realizing: hmmm, Chattanooga needs something like this.
"We used to sit down there at Fellini’s and just watch and kind of dream of this," she said. "A pizza place. Chattanooga needs this. We can do this."
Chattanooga's modern food scene, with its James Beard nominations and Michelin awards, was built on the backs of moments like these: two folks wondering, hmmm, what if we ...
With a borrowed KitchenAid, Dorris worked up a recipe for dough, which, three decades later, still remains the same.
It is difficult to put into words the difference this moment has made.
How many millions of Lupi's pizzas have been served since 1996?
"Bragging on Lupi's is as easy as (pizza) pie," said Trevor Haines, owner and founder of Dojo Chattanooga. "Lupi's is my family's happy place. Always fresh, real ingredients and just consistently yummy."
How do you measure the immeasurable impact, the way families and friends feel better because of good pizza? It is a glue within any good city or community.
"My daughter had Lupi's cater her wedding," he said. "It was outstanding."
Dorris and Greg created a pizza place that would help anchor the downtown renaissance.
"By providing a welcoming and iconic dining spot in Chattanooga, you play a vital role in keeping downtown vibrant for locals and tourists alike," said Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly. "Here’s to many more years of serving the community.”
Over time, Lupi's would provide employment for hundreds, if not thousands, of people, especially as its expanded, with restaurants in Cleveland, East Brainerd, Ooltewah and Hixson.
Well ahead of the local food movement, they would facilitate a stronger farmer-restaurant network, as Lupi's relied, supported and selected regional growers for its toppings, meat and flour.
Lupi's became both local and almost punk-rock-ish. Dorris had no business experience. Or restaurant experience.
Yet?
"We were busy from the day we opened," she remembers.
Most of all, it was all offered with such immeasurable and consistent kindness, generosity and love.
"As a farmer, I cannot imagine a better relationship with a restaurant than I had with Lupi's. It was all thanks to Dorris and her staff," said Dr. Robin Fazio.
Years ago, Robin was growing and milling South Georgia wheat. Dorris would purchase his Sonrisa Farm flour for her dough.
"She really wanted my products, featured them prominently in their recipes, and made it so easy for me to sell to her. If I ever had a problem with supply, she worked with me unconditionally," he said.
"She and Lupi's made me want to keep farming, not just for the economic stability of a wholesale account, but because I was proud to have my products in their restaurants."
Plus, she was part of the early restaurant pioneers of downtown, which created the 90s which created the 2000s which led to the Michelin + James Beard climate of today.
"Dorris is a true leader in our community, and I’ve always appreciated how she runs her shop," said Rob Gentry, who launched Big River Grille, Blue Plate and Hello Monty. "She’s become an integral part of our community’s fabric."
Here's another Lupi's story that represents so much.
"Years and years ago ... pretty much the only wholesale customers in town were Greenlife Grocery and Lupi's," said Kelsey Keener of Sequatchie Cove Farm.
Kelsey would haul thousands of pounds of sausage and ground beef straight to Dorris's garage, into the big chest freezers.
She was able to buy in bulk, which was a huge gift to any farmer.
And, it allowed her to stock Lupi's with Sequatchie Cove Farm meat.
But how would Dorris run a bustling restaurant and make sure to pay farmers? You can't be two places at once.
"There was a bulletin board in the garage with a blank check hanging with our name on it," Kelsey remembers. "Now, that's trust and commitment to local!"
"Even to this day, there are very, very few examples of that kind of long-lasting relationship to the farm-to-table restaurant movement, a shining example of what is possible," he said.
"It doesn't take some fancy expensive Michelin star restaurant to pull it off. It just takes having the passion and commitment to the vision."
Over the years, Dorris and her husband John built up their own Flying Turtle Farm, which often supplied produce and meat for Lupi's. And fresh-cut flowers, which Dorris always placed on the countertops and bathrooms.
A couple of years ago, we visited Dorris there. Strolled through her meadows and rows of flowers, saw the spots where she hosted big employee camping parties, met her pigs, which she fed leftover Lupi's slices.
"I want to give my customers the healthiest pizza I can," she told us. "I try to feed my customers the way I feed my family."
Dorris and Greg and the entire Lupi's family, you've made such a loving difference to this region.
Personally, Dorris believed in our Food as a Verb vision from the beginning. She said yes to us before she even met us. And a "yes" like that? We will never forget it.
Just like the rest of you won't forget your Lupi's experience.
My family's go-to happy place ...
She and Lupi's made me want to keep farming ...
A shining example of what's possible ...
An integral part of our community's fabric ...
The ingredients at the core of the Lupi's story, Dorris says, aren't secret at all. They're always available, always ripe for us, always reminding us of what's possible.
"The extreme importance of relationships," she said. "We are all stronger together."
Story ideas, questions, feedback? Interested in partnering with us? Email: david@foodasaverb.com
This story is 100% human generated; no AI chatbot was used in the creation of this content.
Food as a verb thanks our story sponsor:
Food as a Verb Thanks our sustaining partner:
Food as a verb thanks our story sponsor:
Join our table
keep reading
