Inside the viral San Diego pizza that sells out in seconds
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AJ and the pizzas. Photos: Courtesy of AJ Miller
AJ Miller has transformed his Ocean Beach apartment into a birthplace for what his legions of online followers are calling life-changing pizza.
The big picture: The pizza is crispy and extremely exclusive. He makes just 15 a week and sells out in under 30 seconds.
- His pies have also become catnip for Gen Z and millennials.
- They're rare, you have to be in the know to get one and he shares his pizza-making story on Instagram, where he has 114K followers.
"I think people do like what they can't get, so the exclusivity does play into it a bit," Miller said of his popularity.
Dig in: Of course, he wouldn't be so popular if his pizza was garbage. Apparently, it isn't (though I haven't been able to nab one yet to describe it firsthand, but I'll keep trying).
- It's close to New York style, Miller told Axios, but his favorite is New Haven style "apizza," which is made in a coal-fired oven and is even thinner and crispier.
- Coal-fired pizza is not an option in Miller's apartment, but he bakes at 550°, uses a baking steel that adds extra heat and turns on the broiler at the end to get those crispy edges.
The ingredients are all sourced from Specialty Produce in Old Town.
- And his cold fermented homemade dough crust takes three days to make.
How it works: Pizza hopefuls sign up on the app Hot Plate and get on a text message list.
- Usually on Saturdays, Miller sends out an alert that he'll be taking orders.
- Then he opens the flood gates and people scramble for one of his 15 slots.
- He's been selling pizzas for about a month, and in a week went from 75 to 1,500 people on his waitlist.
After collecting orders on Saturday, Miller spends the week prepping, making the dough and sauce, shredding cheese and getting his toppings ready.
- Then on Fridays, he bakes, so people can pick up hot pizzas.
- He makes one pie every 30 minutes and offers pickup slots from 2 to 10pm.
Follow the money: The pizzas cost $25 to $30, depending on toppings.
- "I am making a profit, but I can't quite like to make a living off of it because there's only so many pizzas I can make," Miller told Axios.
- But he hopes to ramp up slowly, maybe cooking in a rented professional kitchen and even opening a restaurant someday.
Flashback: Miller moved to San Diego from Connecticut in 2020 and couldn't find good New York style pizza he liked, so he started learning to make his own.
- "It took a couple years to really perfect my craft," he said.
- He was posting videos on Instagram about how to make pizza by 2024, and people started asking if they could buy one.
Miller was laid off from his marketing job two months ago, so he decided it was time to try selling pizzas directly.
The bottom line: Miller is 99% happy with his pizzas.
- "I don't think anything's ever perfect, so I do think there's little tweaks that I make each time, and it could always be better," he said.
- Maybe someday I'll get a magic slot and judge for myself.