WEST CALDWELL, N.J. -- Kings Super Markets here has introduced fire-grilled pizza to appeal particularly to its discerning adult customers.
The 20-unit upscale chain is merchandising four varieties of the fresh pizzas chilled alongside other fresh self-service items in the deli area.
Officials at Kings' corporate offices here could not be reached for comment about the new program or how extensively it is rolled out to the chain's units.
A colorful promotional brochure on the pizza, offered in the chain's Fort Lee, N.J., store, listed all 20 Kings locations, suggesting that program is chainwide or will be soon.
The brochure was available on the top of the refrigerated cases where the products were displayed in Fort Lee.
The brochure promoted the "gourmet-ness" of the new line. It said, in essence, that the Kings fire-grilled pizza sets out to redeem classic pizza to its former stature, before it fell into the clutches of mass production.
At the Fort Lee store, the pizzas were displayed along with other refrigerated items, such as pasta entrees, in a 20-foot self-service island case. The case was set perpendicularly to the service deli.
The 12-inch pizzas, over-wrapped, looked piled-high with ingredients. The classic primavera pizza, at 21 ounces, was $5.99. So was the bianca pizza, which has mozzarella cheese, olive oil and black pepper as toppings. The wholewheat veggie pizza was $6.99; the pomodoro and cheese pizza was $4.99.
Fire-grilled pizza is placed on an open grill to bake, rather than being placed in an oven. Grill marks were apparent on the pizzas displayed at the Fort Lee Kings. Asked if they were made in-store or at a central kitchen, a deli associate told SN the pizzas are made by an outside source to Kings' specifications.