MERIDIAN, IDAHO — "It's a fun spin on everyone's favorite food," said Coned Co-Owner Tyler Blake.
You know how when you're craving pizza and you grab a few slices but then have places to be so you can't enjoy it cause you're making a mess everywhere? A local couple has figured out how to solve that.
"We do pizza in a cone. The crust is made out of pizza dough and we fill it to the top with various different ingredients," said Tyler.
That's the idea behind Coned, which began as a food cart in 2016, graduated to a food truck in 2017, then into a Meridian brick-and-mortar location in 2018, and finally opening another physical store in Boise this year. It was all or nothing once they committed.
"There was no business plan, there was no backup plan, it was just let's figure it out. See where it goes. Yeah, it was a huge risk," said Coned Co-Owner Marina Blake.
It was an unexpected concept that came from their love of travel.
"We saw the concept when we were in Italy many years ago and we were just fascinated by it so we figured everything out and brought it out here," said Tyler.
And though you may be able to find similar toppings and sauces at other places...
"I wouldn't say it's like unique to be honest. I wouldn't say it's unique, it's just us trying to offer variety, right? Yeah, it's like standard pizza things, but in a unique concept. There we go, selling it, I love it!" laughed Marina and Tyler.
Most of those "standard" things you'll find in the cone are from right here in Idaho.
"We use our cheese from a local cheese plant called Sorento. In Nampa. Sorento Lactalis. And then some of the veggies and stuff we put in the cones are local as well so we really try to promote the local as much as we can," said Tyler and Marina.
Yes, they admit the pizza cone idea is a bit of a novelty, albeit a tasty novelty, but say the hard work has been completely worth it to constantly see friends and families with big smiles on their faces.
"It's so much fun to be able to provide the type of food that brings any type of joy into people's lives. I know that sounds really cheesy, pun intended, but it's a really rewarding experience to have that kind of product, to make a little bit of happiness in someone's day," said Tyler.
Bringing pizza in a cone and a lot of smiles and laughs, this Idaho couple is grateful to the Treasure Valley for loving Coned, an idea that was discovered in Italy, but perfected and made in Idaho.
"Being able to give back in various ways to the community that's supported us over the years. It's our baby, so we don't have kids, so Coned Pizza is our baby. And we want that baby to make everyone else happy, and us happy. You don't want a bad kid, you don't want a kid that all the other parents say you should lock it up," said Marina and Tyler.
As mentioned, Coned now has two locations, the original in Meridian and a newer one in Downtown Boise on 10th Street.
In case you're thinking that these pizza cones are like the ice cream variety that can be eaten quickly, Coned's owners say each one of theirs is equivalent to around two to three full slices of pizza.
