High Society Pizza Celebrates Highlands Ranch Opening With Free Slices December 11

In January, Keith Naegel, founder of the High Society Pizza food truck, announced plans to open a brick-and-mortar the following month. After eight months in soft-opening mode, High Society is celebrating the addition of its new location by dishing out free slices of its New York-style pies from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, December 11.

"I'm excited to give everybody the opportunity to come here and just try the pizza with an open mind," says Naegel. "Free pizza. Who can say no to that?"

Naegel purposely waited to host a grand opening until he had smoothed out all the kinks in his process and could consistently replicate his recipe on a larger scale. "The food trucks were always a proof of concept. I wanted to start a brick-and-mortar, but man, that's so scary," Naegel says. "When you're first starting out your brand-new business, you go, 'I really need to perfect some recipes.'"

His love for ’za began in the underbelly of Denver's music scene. "I started making pizza in 2008 in the back of Cervantes', and I just fell in love with it," Naegel recalls. After a decade of twirling dough, he bought his first truck in 2017 and renovated it with his dad. "If it did fail, I could always sell the truck," he explains. "But it didn't fail. And then one year turned into two years, and then this month is the start of year eight."
The success led to the purchase of a second truck in 2020. "That second food truck really helped me wrap my head around expansion," says Naegel.

Years of catering all over the state helped him narrow down the brick-and-mortar location to Highlands Ranch. "It's better than I could have ever imagined," Naegel says. "The numbers have far exceeded our expectations." The restaurant has been in a soft-opening mode for the past eight months and has seen healthy traffic from the surrounding neighborhoods and nearby high school.

Naegel's pizza goal was to serve a true New York-style slice — a controversial thing to claim outside of NYC. "You can readily get all the ingredients, as far as flour goes. Sauce, you can get the same tomatoes. We can get the same cheese. But everyone from New York will tell you, it's all about the water," he explains. "Out here [in Colorado], we're known for hard water. New York has a softer water."

That obstacle didn't deter Naegel. Instead, he became a mad scientist researching all the water options. "I literally looked into getting water sent out here from New York, and they do that," he shares with a laugh.
Another process used by one pizza place in the state is reverse osmosis — the process of stripping down Colorado water and adding minerals to imitate New York water. That approach didn't make the cut, either. "For one, it wastes eight gallons of water for every one gallon it produces," Naegel notes. "Not very green-friendly in this state."

He finally settled on a machine called the NY Watermaker, which replicates the makeup of water from anywhere in the world. "They're literally replicating the molecular structure of New York City water," says Naegel. "It took away all the guesswork for me, and it just comes out perfect."

The result is a soft but crisp crust that passes the classic New York fold test and is served on the only appropriate vessel: a flimsy paper plate. "Now I can truly say, 'Hey, we got the best New York-style pizza, because it's all about the water," Naegel says. "It's truly transformed the dough. It's just been unreal."

Though the restaurant is the main focus for now, one of the food trucks will still be running and available to cater events. High Society is also outfitted with a deep fryer and is serving wings alongside the pizza menu. The restaurant employs its own delivery drivers, as well. "We want our drivers to bring it out right when it's hot," Naegel concludes.

High Society Pizza is located at 2229 Wildcat Reserve Parkway in Highlands Ranch and is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. For more information, visit highsocietypizza.com.