About WiseGuys Wood Fired Pizza | Our Story at Kippy’s Place in Elkhart, IA
Who Are the Founders Behind the Best Wood Fired Pizza Elkhart Has Ever Tasted?
Every great pizza has a story, and ours begins with two founders, one blazing wood-fired oven, and a simple belief that live fire makes everything better. Today, WiseGuys Wood Fired Pizza is proudly stationed at Kippy’s Place, the iconic bar and grill in Elkhart, IA, where we serve hand-crafted artisan pizza, fresh pasta, and warm Italian bread breadsticks to neighbors, families, and out-of-towners alike. We also bring our wood fired pizza catering to celebrations across central Iowa. Catch us every summer at the Iowa State Fair too. You will find our wood fired oven serving fresh pies in the Shivers Family Plaza. This is who we are, and why we do what we do.
2018
Founded by Two Cousins
800°
Live Wood Fire
48hr
Fermented Dough
300
Guests Catered
FIG. 01 — Baked to Order
800°F · 48HR DOUGH
Our Mission
Our mission is simple. We exist to serve the most authentic, award-winning wood fired pizza in central Iowa, hand-crafted in a live fire and delivered with the warmth of family, whether you are pulling up a chair at Kippy’s Place or hosting the celebration of a lifetime. Every pie we pull from the wood-fired oven is a promise: to turn an ordinary meal into a memory worth savoring, and to treat your table like our own.
Our Story: From a Bold Idea to Award-Winning Pizzaiolos
WiseGuys Wood Fired Pizza was founded in 2018 as a partnership built on one delicious obsession: crafting a fantastic wood fired pizza that did not have to stay in one place. Our founders dreamed of an oven on wheels, a mobile pizzeria that could roll up to a party of any size and turn it into an event. From those first fires came something special. We began competing in pizza festivals across Iowa, and our specialty pies started bringing home awards. What began as a bold idea quickly became a hometown favorite.
What We Stand On
No Shortcuts.
No Exceptions.
Four things we refuse to compromise — even when it would be cheaper, faster, or easier not to.
01
Why We Cook with Live Fire
There is no shortcut for real flavor. Every pie is baked to order in our wood-fired oven at a blistering 800°F, giving you a crispy thin crust with a smoky character no conventional oven can imitate. Our dough ferments a full 48 hours, then it is hand-stretched in the time-honored Neapolitan pizza tradition before it ever touches the stone. From the first slice to the last, you taste the difference that fire and patience make.
02
Proven at Pizzafest and Beyond
We are proud to have earned multiple awards for best pizza at Pizzafest and food truck challenges throughout Iowa, going head to head with established brick-and-mortar pizzeria names and winning. Those honors are not just trophies on a shelf. They are proof that whether we are serving a single table at Kippy’s or a wedding of 300, our quality never wavers. When you choose WiseGuys, you choose a pizza restaurant that judges and hungry crowds have already crowned a winner.
03
Find Us at Kippy’s Place in Elkhart
Our home is Kippy’s Place, the beloved bar and grill in Elkhart, IA, where our trailer is stationed year-round. Stop in for dinner, grab takeout to go, and be sure to ask about our rotating daily specials. With outdoor seating, a family friendly atmosphere, and the best wood fired pizza Elkhart can serve, we have become a favorite casual dining restaurant for the whole community.
04
Catering That Brings the Fire to You
Beyond our home base, WiseGuys also travels. Our wood fired pizza catering rolls out to weddings, graduations, corporate outings, and block parties throughout Polk County, Warren County, Madison County, and beyond. For a large group of up to 300 guests, you get the warm intimacy of a food truck paired with the muscle of a full-service caterer, plus the unforgettable theater of a pizzaiolo working a live fire.
05
Our Promise to Every Guest
We treat every event, and every guest, like family. That means fresh homemade sauce made from scratch, generous toppings, high-moisture mozzarella, and friendly service from your first hello to your final bite. We show up early, we never cut corners, and we leave you with a memory worth talking about. That is the WiseGuys promise, and we proudly stake our name on it.
Come taste it for yourself. Visit us at Kippy’s Place in Elkhart, or reach out today to bring the fire to your next celebration.
HUngry Yet?
Bring The Fire to Your
Next Celebration.
Come taste it for yourself. Visit us at Kippy's Place in Elkhart, or reach out today to bring the fire to your next celebration.