OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — The top three dream jobs for boys these days are professional athlete, doctor or musician. In this week's Cheap Eats, 3 News Now Anchor Serese Cole is taking you to Countryside Village— where one man's boyhood dream —came true this Summer.
Pizza lovers in the Metro have a new dine-in destination.
"It's a family vibe pizzeria," said owner Collin Adkisson.
It's called Mootz — just like the owner.
"Mootz was like a childhood name for me," Collin chuckled.
Pizza has been an obsession for Collin "Mootz" Adkisson since he was three years old.
"I always said when I was a little kid, I wanted to own a pizza place and here we are," he smiled.
He started making and selling his pies after he lost his job during the pandemic.
"I had a link in my Instagram bio where you could order pizza, and so I hired a couple of delivery boys and we were sending people all over the city and we kind of grew," he explained.
His pizzas were so popular, he bought a food truck.
"We'd show up at our location and we'd sell out," he recalled.
And in August, he opened his very own pizza place.
Serese: What's it like living your dream?
Collin: Sometimes I have to pinch myself because it's hard to believe!
Now, he's serving Neapolitan-style pizzas — his way.
"We're trying to make the bridge of like Neapolitan pizza and New York pizza, and a lot of those worlds collide - and have opposing ideas - and I think it's great," he shared.
Serese: So, you're going rogue?
Collin: I really am!
Serese: The key to your pizza is what? Is it the crust, the sauce?
Collin: I would say crust in number one.
He showed me what makes his crust so good — beginning with the dough.
The pizza maestro went to work with his top two pizzas.
The Pepperoni pizza starts with a scoop of sauce, a sprinkle of cheese and cup-and-char pepperoni.
Serese: I noticed it's not a whole lot of sauce or cheese.
Collin: It's very simple and it's lightly topped and it's actually very healthy - there's not a whole lot of fat.
The Margherita pizza features his scratch sauce, chunks of mozzarella — the freshest basil — snipped right from the plant on the counter. It all comes together inside his Italian wood fire oven. It doesn't take long in 700-degree heat. Minutes later, he takes out — pizza perfection.
Serese: I looked on the menu. I didn't see breadsticks; I didn't see garlic knots. Is it all pizza all the time?
Collin: So, we kind of have the Cane's philosophy where it's like chicken strips only. How do you want your four chicken strips rearranged? There's a lot of restaurants that say we got bored with pizza," Collin said.
That's not the case at Mootz.
"The pizza dudes that are sick of the same pizza every night, come out and give this a try. It's so different," he suggested with a smile.
Mootz is on the Northwest corner of Countryside Village at 8725 Shamrock Road. You can get the Neapolitan-style pizza by the slice or a whole pie. Pepperoni is their best seller.
You can get one slice for $4. They have gluten-free crust available. They also serve side salads, cookies and adult beverages.
You can check Mootz out on Instagram or Facebook. To see the full menu or their private party options, click here.
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