Lawton pizzeria owner pleased with first year's success
LAWTON – There’s no doubt in Jennifer Fortenbaugh’s mind that No Name Pizza offers the best pies in town.
Fortenbaugh, who opened No Name Pizza in March 2020, speaks with confidence when talking about the pizzas her employees make and deliver every day. “I knew I could be better than anyone else,” she said, when referencing the reason she opened the restaurant more than a year ago.
“I knew we could provide excellent food and customer service across the board. I also knew we had to set ourselves apart from everyone else and we have. Order a large pepperoni at my restaurant and then go to [a national chain pizzeria] and order a large pepperoni and you’ll taste how ours is better.”
Fortenbaugh uses comments and input from her employees and management team to make decisions about new pizzas or other menu items. At times, she also gets in the kitchen to experiment with potential new dishes.
“I’m not a cook, just someone who will experiment and see if something tastes good or not,” she said. “As a team, we talk about rolling out a new pizza that will make us stand out from everyone else.”
The entrepreneur is continually promoting Lawton and urges local residents to shop in town, including at No Name Pizza.
“This is a wonderful community and when people buy their pizzas here, they are buying local because they know that the money goes back into the community,” Fortenbaugh said. “It ’s wonderful to have that type of relationship.”
No Name Pizza, which offers delivery and takeout only, probably will stay with that business model for the foreseeable future.
“It’s not like the days when a family would go into Pizza Hut, order their dinner and sit at a table. Domino’s changed the dynamics of pizza restaurants everywhere. So, based on the research, we’ll probably stay with takeout and delivery. It’s the business model that works,” Fortenbaugh said.
But why did Fortenbaugh opt for pizza in her first foray into the business world?
“Everybody loves pizza,” she said. “You can provide different options with pizza, but the main thing is everyone loves it. You can experiment and try new recipes. Everybody loves something a little different, but you also have your all-time favorites.”
The restaurant’s name was inspired by a pizza place in Big Bear, Calif., where Fortenbaugh’s family would visit relatives when her children were young.
“It was a take-and-bake place, and we would get some pizza the night before we left,” she recalled. “I liked the name, so we went with it.”
One of the favorites on the No Name Pizza menu is The Joe Friday named in honor of the late Lawton police officer C.H. Brazziel who many people revered for his role in the department and the community.
Other gourmet specialty pizzas include It’s Greek to Me, Everything but the K itchen Sink, Pepperoni Squared, Did You Say Cheese? and Meat Head. Pizza crusts include regular and thin, and broccoli and cauliflower with all doughs handmade each morning. The menu also offers a variety of craft subs, wings, craft salads, breadsticks, cinnamon sticks and sweet treat cookies.
No Name Pizza, located at 7615 Cache Road, Suite 2, is open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day. The telephone number is (580) 771-4343. For the complete menu and prices visit, www.noname.pizza.