By Mark Woolsey

It’s an unusual name that signifies another variation on an American classic.

Ah-Beetz Pizza has landed in Georgia as the first franchisee of a company that turns out New Haven-style pizza for hungry South Floridians. The name itself is a Naw Haven original. When someone in Southern Connecticut calls a friend and says, “let’s get a pizza,” it comes out as “ah-beetz.”

The restaurant is located at 125 Ernest W Barrett Parkway NW, in Kennesaw.

New Haven native Nick Laudano owns the Florida locations and created the Ah-Beetz Corporation, setting a basis for franchising.

And he knows his stuff.

Creating one of their pies is a 2–3-day process, he explained on the Roger Stone podcast last year.

“It’s handcrafted dough,” he said. ”It’s done by touch, it’s done by feel. Your fingers have to know.”

The dough then undergoes a fermentation process before being festooned with tomato sauce, cheese, chicken and other toppings.

Laudano is said to have started spinning dough at the age of 12 and honed his craft at iconic New Haven spots like Frank Pepe and Sally’s Apizza.

Taking his expertise to Florida, he built a mini-empire of several locations and created a large and enthusiastic following, including Brett Benik, Jason Doherty, and third partner Emanuele Cardaci. All three are long-term friends who have done business ventures together.

There was the day Benik walked into one of Laudano’s locations and sampled a pie.

“He called me up and said ‘You have to try this pizza. It’s literally the best pizza I’ve ever had,” said Doherty, a fellow South Floridian who also got hooked on the hand-crafted dough, charred fringe and bottom (a signature feature of New Haven style), gourmet Italian cheese, and California tomatoes.

“For six months I was going to the Del Ray store and getting a pizza every weekend,”
 he says.

“We’re pizza snobs” said Doherty of he and his partners. “This pizza knocks your socks off.”

The trio started talking about whether they should make the thin-crusted pies their next venture. They wound up deciding to become Laudano’s first franchise, and they zeroed in on Georgia and Marietta.

The Barrett Parkway area reminded them of their old stomping grounds around Boynton Beach. Vehicle traffic looked good. And they moved into a space vacated by the former Twisted Kitchen, saying it already had a “pizza vibe.”

The trio also found that the Connecticut pies were essentially unknown in Georgia, which was another factor in their decision.

Doherty indicates that since opening in early October, their approach has been pretty straightforward- keeping to Laudano’s formula.

“This is not ‘New Haven style,’ he asserts. “This is authentic New Haven.”

They turn out traditional pies that are both plain (tomato sauce, pecorino, olive oil and oregano and “mootz” (New Haven slang for mozzarella).

They also boast NH favorite white clam pizza along with top seller margherita and buffalo and barbecued chicken. And don’t call them hoagies, subs or heroes, they’re grinders (another example of New England terminology). They also feature calzones, wings and salads.

The only variation from the traditional approach is their deciding not to use a coal-fired oven, opting for imported high-tech Italian ovens instead.

“They mimic coal-fired, “says Benik, “Without having to deal with some of the negatives of coal like the smoke.” AND  just like coal, the Italian ovens heat the pies to nearly 800 degrees.

Doherty says one thing that’s surprised him is the number of New Havenites making a pilgrimage to the store, some driving up to 90 minutes and thanking him for bringing a bit of their hometown to Georgia. About 15 to 20 natives per day are showing up, he says.

Having relocated to Georgia themselves, they’re thinking about their next investment  in the state and region.

“We’ve already signed up to do four other locations,” says Doherty. “Our goal is to do at least 25 stores throughout Atlanta then possibly expand to the Carolinas.”

Who knows? Ah-Beetz and Mootz might become Georgia slang as well.