Tiffany Nardo-Amos and Vance Amos have opened The 304 Wood Fired Pizza Company inside Waterfront Hall in Wheeling as a permanent location while their popular Wood Fired Pizza Company food truck will continue to operate remotely at locations throughout the Ohio Valley and beyond. (Photos by Eric Ayres)

WHEELING – The Wood Fired Pizza Company’s new brick-and-mortar location inside Waterfront Hall is on the cutting edge of Wheeling’s downtown renaissance – setting up shop in one of the city’s hottest new locations while the downtown continues an historic transformation.

Tiffany Nardo-Amos and Vance Amos have operated the popular Wood Fired Pizza Company food truck since 2016, bringing unique pizzas and cuisine to seasonal events and locations throughout the Ohio Valley and beyond ever since then.

Last month, the family business expanded to include its first permanent location. Known as The 304 Wood Fired Pizza Company, the business became the second restaurant tenant inside Waterfront Hall on Water Street next to Heritage Port in downtown Wheeling.

Located at 1230 Water St. in the former Berry Supply building, owner Dan Milleson’s Waterfront Hall has helped breathe new life into the heart of the city while the state’s $32 million Downtown Streetscape Project continues to unfold.

“Wheeling is such a great city, and everything that’s happening now is so exciting,” Tiffany said, noting that much of the Streetscape construction along Main Street should be wrapping up when paving takes place in June. “It’s already beautiful down here, and when it’s all done, I think it’s just going to be unbelievable.”

Members of the Wheeling Area Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday to welcome The 304 Wood Fired Pizza Company to its new location inside Waterfront Hall. (Photos by Eric Ayres)

Tiffany said Waterfront Hall and its owner, Avenue Eats next door and the customers have all been fantastic since The 304 Wood Fired Pizza Company location opened its doors. The restaurants at Waterfront Hall are tenants there, and while the bar and adjacent concert venue on the first floor are under the ownership of the hall, the restaurants are there to make sure all of the patrons don’t get hungry. In fact, they’re fed with some of the most unique local food options around – and a big portion of the crowds at the venue during certain hours are there for lunch or dinner.

“The building is amazing, Dan is amazing, and our neighbors here are amazing,” she said. “I just think it’s such a great concept. It’s totally different.”

Wood Fired Pizza is something different, as well. It’s authentic, homemade Ohio Valley pizza – but not in the traditional, square-cut Ohio Valley pizza style.

“Our product is made fresh every single day,” Tiffany said. “My dad is first-generation Italian-American, and our recipes are Neapolitan-style.”

Signature pizzas include the Margherita, the Flying Pig, Buffalo Chicken, Bianco, Carmine and the Vinny, with specials such as the Reuben and more.

Tiffany Nardo-Amos of The 304 Wood Fired Pizza Company serves up a specialty pizza that has been a big hit among those who have tried it – the Reuben! (Photos by Eric Ayres)

The wood-fired oven also gives the pizza a unique, flame-kissed bake.

“It’s a fast process,” Vance said of cooking the pizzas in the big, wood-fired oven – but that’s not the true secret to these signature pies. “It’s the fresh dough, and it’s a true Neapolitan-style that makes us different and sets us apart.”

Vance said they had to cut out the wall to get the oven into Waterfront Hall, but the oven in the food truck actually is even bigger.

“A lot of people thought that the food truck was going to stop – it’s not,” Tiffany explained, noting that the mobile unit will be hitting the road again beginning in April while the Wheeling location will be open, as well. “This is in addition to the food truck. We’re growing.”

Before the new location opened, the business had grown so much, it was becoming difficult to satisfy the demand. Now, the new digs fit right to the hip, local vibe that is playing its role in revitalizing downtown Wheeling.

“I’ve heard it 100 times since we’ve been here – ‘my gosh, it’s so nice that you guys are in a fixed location where we don’t have to chase you around,’ so to speak,” Vance said, noting that there is a growing demand from customers who have come to discover their own favorites among the unique flavor pairings and styles. “It makes you feel good when they tell you that you’ve got something that’s a little bit different.”

The wood fired oven cooks the signature pizzas quickly and gives them a unique, flame-kissed character. (Photos by Eric Ayres)

The 304 Wood Fired Pizza Company is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and is closed on Sunday and Monday. For the latest details and menu items, stop in or visit the official Facebook page for The Wood Fired Pizza Company (with “wood” and “fired” as separate words, otherwise you may end up on a social media page for a pizza shop in Australia, Tiffany noted.)

“We’ve been so grateful for all of the support,” she said.

The 304 Wood Fired Pizza Company’s array of signature pies are Neapolitan-style pizzas with fresh ingredients and authentic Italian-American flare. (Photos by Eric Ayres)