First Look: Triple Jay's Pizza

Triple Jay’s Pizza is now open at the Azure on the Park development in Midtown, in the space previously occupied by Cactus House Mexican restaurant.

The family-owned business from Jay and Lasonia Terrence, and their sons Jeremiah and Justin, grew out of their love of pizza, and it hit the road as a food truck in 2015.

The truck is still rolling out, and Triple Jay's continues to expand its catering business — plus it was voted the second-best pizza in Atlanta in a recent AJC Best of Atlanta poll.

But the biggest news is the move to a fast-casual brick-and-mortar location, which includes eat-in, takeout, and delivery service.

The build-out features an order counter that extends to a bar with a few stools, with more seating at window rails and booths inside, and outdoor seating on the spacious front patio. So far, the decor is mainly Triple Jay’s signage, and a pair of TVs tuned to sports or talk shows.

The menu is equally to the point, with round-and-thin crust New York-style or rectangular-and-thick crust Detroit-style pizza baked in Peerless commercial ovens, and served whole or by the slice.

Either way, you can build your own from more than a dozen toppings, including pork, beef or turkey pepperoni. Or choose from house pizzas such as Veggie, Chicken Alfredo or Da Meats.

Beyond pizza, there are six- or 10-piece wings in Buffalo, BBQ, Honey Hot, Kickin’ Bourbon or Lemon Pepper flavors, french fries, and fried dough or fried Oreos for dessert.

There’s no beer or wine on the menu, yet, but you can grab soft drinks and bottled water from a refrigerator, or order fountain sodas or iced tea at the counter.

Last week, Lasonia Terrence sat down at the counter at Triple Jay’s to talk about her family’s pizza journey.

“The food truck off-season usually starts around November and runs through about March,” Terrence said. “A lot of our followers started wanting to know where we were once the food truck season had slowed down. That’s when we decided we needed to do a brick-and-mortar.

“In Atlanta, you can’t just pull up and serve food. You have to be permitted to do that, or have the permission of the property owner. So this was a lot of work, and a lot of studying, looking at different areas, and the foot traffic. We thought that being right up the street from Piedmont Park would be a great location, and that’s how we got here.”

The Terrence family roots go back to Philadelphia. And Terrence said she was a stay-at-home mom before getting into the food truck business.

“When we came to Atlanta, we couldn’t really find a slice of pizza like back home, so that’s how we came up with the truck idea, and selling slices,” she said. “My husband developed all the recipes. He worked in a restaurant as a teenager, and he learned how to make the pizza there.

“The Detroit-style is a thicker slice of pizza, and it’s crunchy around the edges. A lot of people compare it to a deep dish or a Sicilian slice. Of course, the New York-style is a thinner slice that a lot of people are accustomed to. It’s the kind you can fold over and eat with one hand.”

Asked about what’s been selling best at the brick-and-mortar, Terrence said it’s already been changing a bit.

“Our bestseller is the New York pepperoni, but recently the Detroit pepperoni has really taken off,” she said. “As far as wings, usually the bestseller is Honey Hot or Buffalo, but Lemon Pepper is new and really catching on, as well.

“But the whole goal here is getting things out quickly. We do value people’s time, so if we can get you in and out, especially at lunchtime, that’s great.”

And if you’re wondering why the business is called Triple Jay’s, Terrence has a quick answer, too: “My husband, Jay, my son Jeremiah and my son Justin are the three Jays,” she said. “And now they’re all making pizza, and we’re selling it.”

1020 Piedmont Ave NE, Atlanta. 678-712-8400, triplejayspizza.com.

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