Louie’s Pizzeria Finds Its Pizza Fans

When Don and Kim Wixom bought Louie’s Pizzeria in 2021, their only experience in restaurants was Kim’s stint as a server at Sizzler, and Don’s high school job at Wienerschnitzel.

But since then, they have since doubled this Layton restaurant’s business, going from 10 employees to 22.

When I interviewed the Wixoms for a Standard-Examiner article, Don said their priorities are “Safety, number one; customer service, number two, and consistency, three.”

 Louie’s offers some memories for Boomers who grew up in an era where “going out” for pizza meant sitting at booth with red-and-white checked tablecloths amid the aroma of Italian seasonings and baking dough.

 It’s attached to the Main Street Arcade, making it popular with teens or families. You can place your order and hit the arcade while waiting for your pizza.   

 It’s also a place where you can meet for a sit-down lunch, even though about 70 percent of its sales are from takeout, and delivery through Door Dash and GrubHub.

   For an inexpensive meal, it’s hard to beat the lunch special of $7.49 for a large slice of pizza, two breadsticks and a drink.

 Louie’s is one of Layton’s locally owned eateries that has found a following, such as Little Taste of Britain, Red Fort Cuisine of India Burger Stop and Scrambled! (In fact, some of these have expanded their popularity to second locations in Ogden and SLC.)

Louie’s was opened in 2018 by Spencer Whipple. According to Don Wixom, Whipple’s middle name comes from the Western novelist Louis L’Amour. So he called his place Louie’s.

  The Wixoms were already fans of Louie’s pizza when they heard it was for sale, and decided to buy it. Before taking ownership, they trained with Whipple.

    “The advice that Spencer gave us is that as a small business owner, you have to hustle to find the deals of groceries and equipment,” said Don Wixom. “At the end of the pandemic, it was hard to find pizza boxes and meats. Costs have definitely gone up and continue to go up. We work hard to keep our prices low.”

  Prices range from small, $10.99; large, $20.49, to extra-large, $26.99.

 Louie’s makes its own classic, hand-tossed dough. You can order it thick or thin. They also have a gluten-free crust that they buy pre-made.

 Customers pay by the size — not the number of toppings. So you can add as many toppings as you like, although Don Wixom warns that “you don’t want to add too many ingredients or it sogs the dough.”

Kim Wixom mixes the dough at night, and lets it cold-rise overnight or longer, for a good-textured crust. The prepared pizzas are cooked in a gas-fired conveyor oven, which takes about eight minutes.

   When the Wixoms took ownership, they kept the previous owner’s recipes. Items like the marinara, garlic butter, and ranch dressing are made in-house.

  “They had a good customer base, and we didn’t want people to think we were changing things up,“ said Kim Wixom.

  But they’ve added more specialty pizzas like the Roadrunner and Wiley Coyote, which both have green chiles. There are also creative combos such as Cajun Chicken, Buffalo Blue, Mama Mia (starring spicy sriracha and sausage), and Chick-A-Wafe (pepper jack cheese, breaded chicken, tomatoes, and pickles added after baking).

  The Piggy Pie is the most popular pizza. It’s spread with white garlic sauce, and topped with mozzarella, pineapple, and brown-sugar-glazed bacon. Each bite is a flavor mix of sweet, salty and smoky. 

A lot of the pizza toppings can be stuffed into calzones, which is Don Wixom’s favorite menu item. He also likes the Feta-Roni pizza, where the dough is spread with garlic white sauce and topped with pepperoni, feta cheese and basil.

 

  The cheese bread is crispy-crunchy on the outside, and gooey with garlic butter and mozzarella inside. There are spicy variations such as jalapeno popper bread and cherry pepper popper bread.

Also, veggie lovers can order “cauliflower crowns, “covered in garlic butter and parmesan.” If you have any room left over, a sweet finale might include a cinnamon or Oreo pizza.

  LOCATION:. Location: 1095 N. Main Street

  CONTACT: https://www.ilovelouies.com or 801-784-8781 

  HOURS: 11 a.m- 9 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday