Topp’d Pizza owner serves small pizza, but has big plans

There’s a sign on the window at the two-week-old Topp’d Pizza at 3934 Rainbow: “Yes, we are local.”

Before putting the sign on the window, the 32-year-old owner, Chad Talbott, was answering a lot of questions from patrons about his fast-casual operation, which prepares both signature and custom-made 9-inch pizza pies in less than five minutes: “People wanted to know if I was a franchisee for a pizza chain or if Topp’d was part of a big corporation,” Talbott says.

The answer is no, but Talbott wants to stress the point.

“I need to get the word out that I’m an independent operator, and this is, right now, the only Topp’d in the country.”

Talbott was a franchisee before opening his own concept. After working for the Texas-based Pizza Street Inc. (the company’s first pizza buffet restaurant was opened in Gladstone, Missouri, in 1994) for over a decade, Talbott became a Pizza Street franchisee.

“I had my store in Blue Springs from 2009 to 2014,” Talbott says. “I learned what to do and what not to do in terms of running a pizza restaurant.”

After closing his Pizza Street operation (he moved some of the equipment to his new Topp’d), Talbott decided that he was ready to put his own ideas into reality, creating Topp’d as a venue that used only fresh ingredients (there’s no freezer in the kitchen), slicing his own vegetables, marinating and grilling his own meats, sauteing his own meatballs and shredding all of the cheeses in-house.

“We also make our own marinara sauce and Thai peanut sauce,” Talbott says. “This is the antithesis of those pizza chains that have a 16-year-old kid in the kitchen, tearing open a bag of prepackaged ingredients or opening cans of sauces.”

That doesn’t mean that the young entrepreneur isn’t opposed to taking Topp’d national at some future point. He’s already considering different locations for a second Topp’d in the metro (possibly south Johnson County or Lee’s Summit, he says).

Patrons order at the counter at Topp’d, choosing from the eight signature pizza pies, including a Kansas City BBQ pizza with cheddar, pulled pork, and caramelized onions, or customizing a pizza with an array of choices of crust options (including gluten-free), sauces, cheeses, meats and vegetables. The signature pizzas and custom pizzas are both $6.99, but a single-topping pizza can be ordered for $5.99. The pizzas are then delivered to the table. Talbott also has a no-tipping policy.

Talbott was savvy in choosing his first location: It’s across the street from KU Medical Center, and he’s doing a brisk lunch business from hospital employees and students who have only a 30-minute lunch break. The students have already inspired Talbott to add an additional ingredient to his selection.

“I get so many requests for vegan cheese,” Talbott says, “that I’m on a search right now for the best one to use on our pizza.”

Topp’d is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday. Talbott hopes to expand the closing time to 10 p.m. during the summer.