New downtown Sioux Falls pizzeria impresses with New York Style inspired pizza

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - For Barry Putzke and Michael Charpentier, opening a pizzeria has been a long time in the making.

“Jordan, Barry, and I were all friends in Portland, many years ago, and decided that if we could bring a certain style of pizza to Sioux Falls that it would be something like this. It would be larger, available by the slice, and extra delicious,” Pizza Cheeks’ Chef De Cuisine, Michael Charpentier, said.

Bringing their own style to the city, Pizza Cheeks has its new customer base buzzing with their New York and Pacific-Northwest inspired pies.

“A lot of time and effort went into it and I think it really comes through in the finished product,” Charpentier said.

But the magic may not have happened without a leap of faith. Amid the pandemic, Charpentier uprooted his life to move across the country.

“I had been a chef for about the last 15 years but I had never worked, specifically, hands-on with pizza, so this was kind of a new challenge for me,” Charpentier, said. “I had never worked ground-up, building the dough, developing the recipes, and then as it turned out, it’s probably the most fun job I’ve ever had.”

Already the co-owner of Bread and Circus Sandwich Kitchen, Putzke knows what it takes to run a restaurant in Sioux Falls.

And even with COVID-19 looming, he knew opening Pizza Cheeks inside The Hello Hi bar was the perfect opportunity to put his own twist on the pizza market.

“Pizza goes well with drinks, the late-night option is a great option, being inside of a bar is a natural fit,” Putzke said. “It’s interesting timing with the state of the world right now, but I think we have a really wonderful customer base, people are really receptive to new ideas, people definitely want to try out new things, and I think the best part is getting that positive feedback from people and hearing how much they appreciate it.”

To see Pizza Cheeks’ full menu, click here.

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