4th of July Company Picnic

On the 4th of July we hold it to be self evident that people don’t eat pizza. So we give our staff and our pizza ovens the day off in order to picnic, play and eat lots (and LOTS) of tasty grillables at our annual employee picnic. Chicken, burgers, brats, hot dogs, veggie burgers, sausages…just about anything except pizza! After people had a chance to eat and let things settle, we held our annual Pizzalympics.

Our pizzathletes train rigorously year round following a grueling schedule of tossing pizza dough, folding boxes while blindfolded, and strategizing about how they can score a ringer for the ultimate event at the Pizzalympics, that supreme arbiter of store superiority, the event which the winning store lords over everyone else until the next picnic…The Tug of War.

This year’s parade of pizza prowess was no different. Queen Anne’s Mark Bell became a blur of hands as he took the prize for fastest box folding. Hugo Uitzel-Tun from Bridle Trails, who placed second in our 2012 March Madness Cook competition, easily took the prize for fastest toss. Queen Anne’s ribbon count increased to two when Warren Murphy showed that size does indeed matter as he threw out a massive dough for the biggest dough contest. Not all of the challenges were individual events, however. The punishing test of wits, reflexes and true grit known as the Pizzalympics Relay Race takes a toll every year. Teams work to fold boxes while blindfolded, toss out a dough with 2 people (each using one hand) and deliver it to the finish line after spinning around a baseball bat 10 times. University Pizzeria prevailed. Then one event remained. Would the Queen Anne Pizzeria be a three-ribbon winner? The crowd held its breath as they struggled to find glory. In the end, Kenmore Delivery Kitchen pulled their way to victory. Congratulations to the winners. You can bet that the competition will be just as fierce next year!

Contact!

There's no base coaches in softball!

Matt Galvin and Jeff Woodruff wonder where the holes in theirs mitts came from.

Driver Manager aka Grillmeister Sasha Mitronovas gets down to business.

Bellevue Square’s Marlene Tun-Gil and her family enjoy the sun.

Nope! Not a slice in sight!

Mark Bell from the Queen Anne Pizzeria tosses his box over his shoulder. Winner!

Hugo Uitzel-Tun from Bridle Trails shows off his speed.

Queen Anne’s Warren Murphy tosses his way to glory.

Jenna Julich, Kevin Dantic, Emelio Esteban and Brittian Piper from the victorious University Pizzeria relay team!

The Kenmore Delivery Kitchen battles the Queen Anne Pizzeria n the Tug of War finals. PULL!