High Society Pizza Is Moving Into a Brick-and-Mortar Next Month

Keith Naegel is originally from Evergreen and started making pizza in 2009 at a shop called Magoo's in the back of the now-closed Quixote's True Blue. "It was the wildest pizza shop in this entire state," he says. "So that was the loudest years of my life. ... I fell in love with not only making pizza, but being able to be a part of this community. I followed around a lot of bands, and so to work at a venue and be able to cook for my idols was my favorite thing in the world."

It was Naegel's love of music and his experience traveling around following his favorite bands that ultimately led him to launch the High Society Pizza food truck. "I followed bands around forever. We had a school bus that we turned into a legal motorhome and did that whole conversion," he recalls. "Our passion was music events in this mobile lifestyle, but I didn't know where I fit in. But after we did the bus thing, turning a truck into a food truck wasn't that far out of the realm. I knew it could be done."

As Naegel continued to follow his favorite bands, he noticed that food trucks were gaining popularity. "I thought man, that's it, we need a truck," he says, so he purchased one for $5,000 and built it out with the help of his dad and friends.

His first service on was January 1, 2018, and "we didn't know what we were doing," he admits, but over time, Naegel learned the ins and outs, and the truck started to secure more gigs.

He calls the pizza he serves "Jersey-style" — "because the guy that mentored me the most and I learned the most from was this asshole from New Jersey," Naegel notes.

The pies come with a variety of toppings, from traditional pepperoni pies to Hatch green chiles and slow-roasted pork. What really makes it stand out, though, is that "High Society Pizza has the best crust of any pizza in Colorado," Naegel affirms. "I've spent more time and dedication to the art of dough making than anybody else. I truly believe we have the best crust out there."
In recent years, his focus has turned to expanding the catering side of the business. "We realized that we were so booked that it was the time to start another food truck," Naegel says. "The first truck didn't have an engine that would make it to the mountains. We learned from all the mistakes we made and built the second food truck. It is truly a work of art and gets us to the mountains. It has everything we need. We do weddings in Steamboat, Crested Butte and Telluride. We go everywhere now."

But shortly after the launch of the second truck, the engine blew on the original. "It was like rebuild this old horse or light a fire under my ass and start a restaurant," he says. "So we sold the truck," and now Naegel is making moves to open a brick-and-mortar.

The truck "was a proof of concept," he explains. "This was a strategic business plan. I knew no one would give me a loan for hundreds of thousands of dollars if I just said I could make pizza. But if you have a successful business that has grown for six years and has great revenue, they'll give you the chance, and that's what they did. The SBA just gave me the loan of a lifetime."

Naegel's first restaurant is set to open in early February, but he's not ready to announce the location just yet. He plans to keep the truck operating as well, though mainly for catering services. "I'm not scared; I'm excited," he says of the new chapter for High Society. "I would be scared if people had ever come back to me and said, 'Hey, I want a refund. This isn't good.' But every single service I have, people tell me that this is the best pizza they've ever had. I'm excited to showcase my abilities."

For more information, including the food truck schedule, visit highsocietypizza.com.