Slider's Pizza. Photo by Abby Whisler
Slider’s Pizza has arrived to fill the pizza-shaped void in the hearts of Lookout Mountain residents. No longer are Covenant students forced to depend solely on Mr. T’s delivery service to sate pizza-hungry appetites. Located on Scenic Highway less than ten minutes south of Covenant’s main campus, Slider’s Pizza (“Handmade from Scratch”) is locally owned and operated by the Slider family and, according to the Facebook page, “wants to fix the pizza dilemma on our mountain.” Whether or not Slider’s will be able to adequately answer the demands of Covenant’s pizza-loving student body remains to be seen.
The pizza itself has received mixed reviews, online and around Covenant. While some Bagpipe staff members raved about the superior flavor and sublime location, the pizza has also gained a reputation for being overpriced and underbaked. Posters on the restaurant’s Facebook page are divided and have left comments varying from positive statements such as “Best crust I’ve ever had!” to the optimistic but dubious, “They just need a little more practice on the actual baking…otherwise, taste and quality are excellent!”
Housed in a quaint red-roofed shack with a walk-up window that provides a view of a bit of the dough and sauce chaos occurring on a regular day of pizza making, Slider’s offers pick-up pizza and delivery. Since opening on Oct. 17, 2014, amid raffle contests, special pizza deals, and huge cans of Hunt’s tomato sauce, the Slider family has done most of the grunt work themselves in order to get their fledgling business with the motto, “Handmade from Scratch,” off of the ground.
The menu features pizzas such as “Meaty Treaty,” a meat-lover’s extravaganza complete with pepperoni, sausage, beef, ham, and Applewood bacon, and “Greenhouse,” a vegetarian pizza with mushrooms, black olives, onion, bell pepper, and tomato. Most pizzas are sold in both 12” and 16” sizes, and the Facebook page provides regular updates of pizza deals and promotional prices, like their student and law enforcement discount or pizza-soda combos. Since the opening in October, Slider’s has expanded their menu to include specialty items, like the decadent-looking “Brownie Bottom Cheesecake” and, most notably, “Chicago-style” deep dish pizza oozing with greasy cheese that they claim is easily comparable to that found in Chicago itself.
Participation in Chattanooga’s Harvested Here program is evidence of the business’s commitment to using fresh produce and homemade dough. Harvested Here is a Chattanooga food hub that connects local farmers to local restaurants and kitchens in an effort to “secure the future of a healthy regional food supply.” Harvested Here Food Hub also is responsible for distributing fresh food to Chattanooga businesses like Southern Squeeze, 1885 Grill, and The Farmer’s Daughter. Slider’s proudly posts on its social media accounts photos of food items in-the-making, including their fresh ingredients pre-cooking.
While working to perfect their pizzas, Slider’s also intends to continue expanding its menu and experimenting with new recipes and ingredients. While the increased availability of pizza and its location seems to fill a niche in the Lookout Mountain community, it is worth noting that Slider’s is closed Monday and Tuesday and is only open until 9 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays and 8 p.m. on Sundays.