Goodrich – The secret’s out about Big Jake’s Pizza & Shakes. The food is out of this world.
Opened by Goodrich Martian alumni Todd Mann and Nick Moors, who have been cooking up culinary delights in the U.S. Virgin Islands for the past 10 years, Big Jake’s is home to an unearthly pizza oven that allows customers to watch their pizza baked in less than five minutes.
“It has a heated deck, infrared overhead, and a traditional brick oven flicker flame unit,” said Mann enthusiastically, as he pops a bubble arising from the baking dough.
The huge stainless steel unit is round, housing a thick rotating pizza stone that’s five feet in diameter. Part of the back wall had to be sledged out just to get the oven in.
“It rotates once every three minutes,” Mann said. “It’s hoodless – that’s the reason it took so long to open.”
Big Jake’s, named for Mann’s young son who was “called Jake right out of the chute”, offers many impressive menu items: pizza, salads, bread sticks, and an array of ice cream treats.
The house special is the “Big Jake”, of course, piled high with 10 toppings. You’ll also find the Hawaiian, the Bacon Double Cheeseburger, the Barbeque Chicken pizza, the Roasted Veggie, and the Californian, which features white sauce, grilled chicken, and marinated broccoli along with parmesan and mozzarella cheeses.
With an emphasis on enriching the Goodrich community, Big Jake’s also features the Meaty Meaty Martian pizza, loaded up with four different meats, and the Mighty Martian shake.
Big Jake’s ice cream counter has already become as popular as its pizza pies. Featuring the renowned Cook’s Dairy Farm ice cream, Jake’s also offers malts, root beer floats, oodles of sundaes, huge banana splits, a rich pina colada shake, and the “Gravel Road”, an ice cream and candy concoction that pays homage to the Hadley Hills.
Need a chocolate fix? Check out the Triple Threat Shake, a three-chocolate m’lange topped with whipped cream and a cherry, or the “Holy Sundae”, based on a homemade chocolate chunk brownie, Cook’s premium vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream, crushed nuts and a cherry.
Nearly 20 flavors of Cook’s ice cream can also be scooped up into a traditional, sugar, or waffle cone.
What’s Mann’s favorite?
“The Big Jake Shake,” he says with a grin, explaining it’s whipped up from mint chip ice cream and chocolate. “Jake and I like the same things.”
Look for sandwiches on the menu next month, named for Mann’s daughter Riley, who was just born Sept. 12.
Mann, who employs several Martian alumni and offers delivery, says his door is always open to the community, whether they’d like to check out getting a pizza oven, need help with Goodrich community events, or want entrepreneurial advice.
Big Jake’s Pizza & Shakes, located at 10230 Hegel Road in downtown Goodrich, is open seven days a week, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to midnight Friday, 2 p.m. to midnight Saturday, and 2 to 9 p.m. Sunday. Call (810) 636-JAKE.