Good Corner Pizza is a new pizza concept created by the husband and wife team of Chris Bourolias and Zoë Bourolias. Its early beginnings are rooted in giving back to the community and, at its core, focuses on family.
First starting to really experiment with pizza back in February while preparing meals for Horizons for Youth -- a shelter for at-risk and homeless youth, curiosity towards what goes into making a great pizza grew. This interest slowly expanded into the duo wanting to share their newfound passion beyond their volunteer work and according to Chris Bourolias, they just went down a rabbit hole from there.
Bourolias says the idea to pursue pizza came about in the early months of the pandemic, with his wife Zoë developing an interest in bread, later working towards perfecting her sourdough game. Picking her brain about doughs paid off because the duo just wrapped up their first pop-up at Saulter Street Brewery this past weekend.
Selling out after making a hundred pizzas a day, the couple were joined by family who helped make the event a success.
Largely influenced by his longtime dedication to helping his brother's culinary pop-ups takeoff, Bourolias credits his older brother Greg for teaching him all he knows in the kitchen, as his own experience lays in the front of house realm.
"Good Corner Pizza is basically born from an effort from family."
Named after the English translation of the village in Greece his grandmother grew up in -- Kalí Goniá, the concept itself aims to reflect the culture surrounding her wood fire oven. Beyond serving her own primitive versions of pizza, Bourolias says that his grandmother was known for her massive wood fire oven, which was constantly in action. There was always hot and fresh food being dished out, uniting the community.
Wanting to allude to that same feeling through his own food venture, Bourolias says, "Good Corner is the name of her village translated in English, but it's also the good corner. The good corner to come and gather, which was her house. And we're here; it's all family from the get-go."
Three pizza options are being offered at the moment -- Cheese, Pepperoni and White Potato. Wanting to perfect these staples, find them on the menu at every pop-up. Different from your typical cheese pizza, find theirs topped with two varieties of mozzarella and Parmesan, garnished with fresh basil as well as dollops of pepperoncini, giving each bite a little kick.
Good Corner Pizza uses Ezzo Pepperoni, which Bourolias says provides the ideal size and flavour for their pizza, accompanied by Bianco DiNapoli tomatoes, another popular choice in Toronto's restaurant scene.
"Bianco himself is an inspiration to me when it comes to pizza," says Bourolias. "His aesthetic, his ingenuity, his heritage, his reps, his restaurants, I really love what he does and I love his product. The tomatoes show for themselves."
The white potato pizza appears to be the crowd favourite as it was the first to sell out. It is topped with slices of potato, caramelized onions, fresh ricotta cheese, sea salt, Greek olive oil and garnished with rosemary and thyme. Inspiring the pizzas are flavours the duo genuinely enjoys indulging in themselves.
"That's what we're rolling with because that's what we love to eat," says Bourolias.
Working with portable pizza ovens for now, the eventual goal is to move into a permanent space where having a big wood oven can be possible. A dream they hope to achieve after spending some more time perfecting their craft.
"We're very proud and we're very happy and we're very sun-stroked," jokes Bourolias about their successful opening debut.
Using the rest of the week to relax and get ahead for their next event, you won't have to wait too long to try to get your hands on this pizza. Catch Good Corner Pizza this Sunday in Unionville on Main Street next to Flavours Ice Cream Shop, dishing out pizza from 2 p.m. until 8 p.m., but it's best to get there earlier in the day, given the fact that they completely sold out this past weekend.
Follow Good Corner Pizza on Instagram to stay up to date on their pop-up days, locations and journey.
