Known for its craft beer, artisan pizza and gourmet fare, Oak & Stone has launched its first Oak & Stone Fastfire.
*Originally published at Bradenton Herald by James A. Jones Jr.
Known for its craft beer, artisan pizza and gourmet fare, Oak & Stone has launched its first Oak & Stone Fastfire.
Located at 6220 14th St. W., Oak & Stone Fastfire is a scaled-down version of the company’s other restaurants with a limited menu, but with the same extensive 26-beer tap wall, co-founder Brett Decklever said.
Among the re-imagined classics on the menu are sausage-and-meatball pizza and pepperoni pizza. Specialty pizzas include the Winger (buffalo chicken tenders, hot sauce aioli and blue cheese crumbles), the Popeye (prosciutto and spinach) and the Cuban (roasted pork, ham, pickles and mustard aioli).
Oak & Stone’s signature stone-fired slow-roasted wings also are available.
“Right now we have 13 pizzas on the menu, along with our three salads — our house salad, our Caesar salad and my personal favorite, our kale-apple salad. And then we also have our stone oven wings that get roasted in our oven right here every morning,” general manager Rob Lauterbach said.
Nothing is fried at Oak & Stone. Everything is cooked in the oven.
Oak & Stone’s tap wall allows guests to craft their own experience with self-serve beer and wine options with special emphasis given to local and regional breweries such as Darwin Brewing, Calusa, Naughty Monk and Big Top.
Twenty-six beers and four wines are on rotating tap for guests to enjoy while they await their order. The location offers indoor seating for approximately 50 guests.
A “beertender” is on hand at all locations to guide guests through the beer selection process and help make tasting recommendations.
Guests can also purchase growlers of their favorite brews to take home. Food delivery is available through Bite Squad and guests can also pick up catering orders.
Oak & Stone Fastfire opened on Sept. 26 and is the brand’s fourth location and first quick-serve, fast-casual pizzeria offering counter service.
In 2016, Oak & Stone opened its first Manatee County restaurant at 5405 University Parkway in University Park. Among the innovations introduced by the company was its beer bracelet. Each customer gets a bracelet, which serves as a bar tab and lets them sample the various craft beers.
“We’re very excited with the launch of Oak & Stone Fastfire,” Decklever said. “This new concept brings the elements that guests love about Oak & Stone in a location that is convenient and easily accessible. Whether guests dine in or carry out at this new Bradenton location, they’ll enjoy the unmistakable Oak & Stone experience.”
Oak & Stone Fastfire is open daily beginning at 11:30 a.m.
The company also has a restaurant at 4067 Clark Road in Sarasota and at 199 Central Ave. in St. Petersburg.
Creating a lot of buzz is Oak & Stone’s fifth location, which is scheduled to open in November in downtown Bradenton in the eight-story SpringHill Suites, located at 1201 First Ave. W.
Oak & Stone will operate a restaurant on the hotel’s first floor and a rooftop bar called The Deck at Oak & Stone, overlooking the Manatee River. The Deck will have a menu of light bites and shareables.
Oak & Stone has started the hiring process for an opening team of approximately 100 staff members. Those interested can submit applications and have on-the-spot interviews from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday in the lobby of the SpringHill Suites.
Candidates can apply online at oakandstone.com or fill out an application on site.
