Dispatch Pizza is hard to miss. Its art deco-style pizza truck brings a wood-fired oven to weddings, private parties, corporate events and gatherings across Kansas City, serving Neapolitan-style pizzas fresh from the fire. However, the business is about more than bringing pizza to an event. For owner Jeremy Long, Dispatch Pizza combines years spent working in the restaurant industry with experiences gathered while living in some of the world's great food cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Lake Tahoe and Tuscany. Long spent years exploring food and restaurant culture before eventually returning to Kansas City, the place he always expected to call home.
“When I left KC in my early 20s, I did so with the intention of exploring and experiencing all the world had to offer, but in the back of my mind, always knowing I would come home to put down roots,” Long said. His time living in Barga, a small mountaintop town in Tuscany, had a particularly strong influence on how he thinks about food and the experience of sharing a meal. “Living in a tiny mountain town in Tuscany teaches you a few things,” Long said. “Mostly to slow down, to stop and smell the roses. To live and eat simply. To celebrate meals with friends or family as the event of the day.”
That philosophy carries over to Dispatch Pizza, both in the food and in the experience surrounding it. The pizzas are built around a simple approach to ingredients. Long points to the tomato sauce as one example. Made with San Marzano tomatoes from Naples and sea salt, it is intentionally uncomplicated. “If something tastes delicious, you have to let it sing,” he said. The dough receives just as much attention. Dispatch uses “00” flour from Naples and allows its dough to ferment for 72 hours. The longer process helps create a crust that is both crunchy and chewy without developing the sour flavor associated with sourdough. Long said the extra time is worth it. “We get that amazing texture without the sour flavor,” he said.
While the foundation of the menu is rooted in Italian tradition, Dispatch also makes room for Kansas City ingredients and flavors. Long works with local producers, including Messner Bee Farm and Burnt Finger BBQ, both of which are represented on the menu. The Bella Vita pizza includes whipped browned butter and ricotta, burrata, prosciutto and truffle, finished with local hot honey. Another pizza takes a distinctly Kansas City approach, combining tomato sauce, mozzarella, smoked chicken, marinated red onion, dill pickles and local barbecue sauce. “Both of these products are made right here in KC by KC families,” Long said. “I’m very proud to include them on our menu.”
Pizza has become an increasingly competitive part of Kansas City's food scene, Long said. While the city will always be known for barbecue, he believes local diners are looking for more variety and higher-quality options. “There’s a huge appetite for quality pizza here,” he said. “Kansas Citians are expecting more diversity when it comes to food options of all types, and pizza is no exception.”
Dispatch has found its niche by combining the food with an event experience. The art deco-style truck arrives with a 1,000-degree wood-fired oven, turning pizza-making into part of the occasion. “Aesthetics matter in these moments,” Long said. “Our truck sets the stage.” Guests can watch as the pizzas bake, with the dough, sauce and cheese moving through the process before the finished pizza is topped, sliced and served. “We want every guest to have that magical fresh-out-of-the-oven pizza experience,” Long said. “We want them to be blown away by the flavors, textures and aromas of a world-class Neapolitan wood-fired pizza.”
When Dispatch started four years ago, Long expected weddings to make up the majority of the business. While weddings remain an important part of what the company does, corporate events and private parties have grown significantly, along with repeat business. “I underestimated the amount of repeat business we would receive from these types of clients,” he said. That growth has been one of the biggest surprises for Long, who said he has been blown away by the response Dispatch has received from the Kansas City community.
The business model has also allowed him to build a company while spending more time with his family than he believes would have been possible with a traditional restaurant. Long and his partner, Kelly, returned to Kansas City in 2020, raising their three children on the same streets where they grew up. “Time with the people we love is the only asset that really matters,” Long said. For him, returning home has brought together both the personal and professional sides of his life. He found a way to combine his experience in the restaurant industry, his love of Italian food and his desire to build something in Kansas City.
Looking ahead, Long hopes Dispatch continues to grow and perhaps eventually adds a retail option. But he also wants to protect the event experience that helped put the business on the map. “I hope people say that we have helped to elevate the pizza game in KC,” he said. “That we are the kind of pizza worth getting excited about.” After four years in business, Long remains grateful for every customer who has tried Dispatch Pizza, booked an event or simply noticed the truck out on the road.
“We will see you out there,” he said. “Follow the flame.”
For more information on Dispatch Pizza visit dispatchpizza.com
If something tastes delicious, you have to let it sing