You might want to bring a white tablecloth when you visit High Point Pizza on Thursday nights.
That’s when you can get the “Thursday Night Entree Feature,” which includes “everything from stuffed pork chops to filet to snapper,” says owner Spencer Hays, 52.
This began about two years ago. “On Tuesdays we started doing homemade mozzarella sticks. On Wednesdays, we do hot wings. I was just trying to come up with something for Thursdays. Weekdays are usually a little slower.
“I was thinking about doing handmade pasta dishes like spaghetti, fettuccine. That quickly turned into doing a pasta special. Then I realized I had such talent in my kitchen, it didn’t have to be just pasta.”
Hays “took the reins off the talent” and said, “Whatever you want to do. Let’s just make it happen.”
His crew, including chefs Luis Briones and Kelvin Ferguson, manager Scott Hellen, and front man Tyson Stack, rose to the occasion. “I’ve had the same core group of guys for over five years. And they have different backgrounds. Some of them worked in the finer restaurants in the city. And I just said, ‘Go for it.’ And they started coming up with the most beautiful things.
“It gets redundant just making pizza and the same thing all the time.”
One of 40 entrees is served each Thursday beginning at 5 p.m. Sides include “turnip greens or garlic mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, or shrimp risotto. The knowledge of my crew in the back is extensive. It’s their time to get creative, and they relish it,” Hays says.
His idea worked. “Pretty much every day is busy now. So now, we’re sitting here enjoying what we’re doing and just trying to keep up. [The restaurant] turned 15 years old in May.”
A native Memphian, Hays was co-owner of Movie & Pizza Co. in Harbor Town. He frequented the coffee shop that used to be in High Point Pizza’s space. One day he noticed a “For Lease” sign.
Opening a restaurant in the High Point Terrace shopping center was a no-brainer. “It’s kind of a hidden gem in that neighborhood. The customers, the people that live there, are amazing. They’re huge supporters of what we do. They walk with their strollers, their dogs, their wagons.”
Hays added tables outside. “I give kids little pieces of raw dough to play with. That gives them something to do.”
Becoming a restaurateur wasn’t his first career choice. “I was going to be a psychologist. I lasted about two years. And then the money ran out and I had to start working.”
His first restaurant job when he was 15 was “basically, taking the trash out of the Burger King. The most glamorous job you could ever have.”
He went on to bartend and wait tables at Bennigan’s. He also worked in management at the old Pig-N-Whistle on Winchester and as a cook at Garibaldi’s Pizza. “That’s where I first put a pizza together.”
As for his pizzas, Hays, who also works in the kitchen, says, “I just use the best ingredients possible.
“It’s the quality of the product and cooking it. We have a brick oven we use.” The pizzas are “nice and crisp on the bottom. The toppings are great.”
They make about a dozen different pizzas, but the simple cheese pizza and the pepperoni are the biggest sellers. They also do a barbecue pizza with house-made barbecue.
The menu features other items, including the popular muffuletta on homemade bread and a Cuban sandwich, in addition to lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs, and mozzarella sticks. “We have a decent big menu, but I’m of the opinion that too many menu items lessens the quality overall. So I try to keep it pretty simple.”
As for franchising High Point Pizza, Hays says, “I looked at maybe doing another location. Never say never. But right now, I’m content with what I have.”
High Point Pizza is at 477 High Point Terrace; (901) 452-3339.
