Teak & Charlie’s
Jersey Girl Pizza

Let’s talk about the word “authentic.” It gets tossed around a lot in the pizza world. Authentic to who? Authentic to where? We’re not chasing labels or passports. We’re just committed to being authentic to us. At Teak & Charlie’s Jersey Girl Pizza, that means fresh ingredients, bold flavors, a little (maybe too much sometimes) creativity, and pizza we’re proud to put our name on. No rulebook. No pizza politics. Just seriously great food made by people who care.

Before we go any further, there’s one thing worth mentioning — we didn’t start this restaurant. The original owner, Emily, is from New Jersey… and yes, she’s the Jersey Girl. When we took over the shop, we kept the name because it’s part of the story and part of the roots of this place.

On our first day running the shop, the first customers of the day walked through the door and we hollered across the restaurant something like, “How’s it goin’?” Emily whispered, “You can’t yell at customers.” One of us looked back and said, “We can now.”

That moment pretty much set the tone. An idea, an idea of how it should be when you eat out.
It wasn’t about yelling across the room — it was about being genuine. From that day on, greeting people like they matter became one of the most important parts of what we do. Because at the end of the day, we just want to take care of people the way we’d want to be taken care of.

What started as a love for great pizza actually began with a love for people. Before the pizza shop, we were in construction. We’d sit down at a customer’s kitchen table to talk about a project — and hours later we’d still be there, swapping stories and building real friendships. Somewhere along the way we realized we weren’t just “project people.” We were people people. Teak grew up working in restaurants and always loved the energy of it. Charlie spent some time in the industry as an adult and felt that same pull. Eventually it clicked — if we could combine our love for food with our love for people, we’d be exactly where we were meant to be. And we are.

A few years into running the shop, we had another realization — our team had become our focus. When we started pouring into them the same way we used to pour into customers at those kitchen tables, something shifted. Our mindset about leadership, professionalism, teamwork, and growth trickled down and naturally flowed right out the front door with every pizza. For many of our crew, this is their first job. For others, it’s a stepping stone to big careers ahead — and that’s exactly how we designed it. This little pizza shop is a place to learn — about food, about teamwork, about serving others, and about carrying yourself like a professional while still having a blast doing it. When our team grows, our guests feel it.

When you walk through our doors, you’re not just grabbing a slice — you’re joining our table. We believe good food brings people together, and we’re here to make sure every visit feels easy, welcoming, and worth coming back for. Around here, great pizza is just the beginning.

One of Our Favorite Mistakes

Running a pizza shop at full speed means one thing is guaranteed: we’re going to screw something up. One of our favorite examples involves two great customers, Tommy and Delia.

They used to order a Meat Lover’s pizza with extra toppings on two different halves. Sounds simple enough… except somehow, more times than we’d like to admit, we managed to make the pizza with only the extra toppings and completely forgot the Meat Lover’s part. Every time we’d realize it, laugh about it, and make them the correct pizza.

Because of those mistakes, we ended up spending way more time talking with Tommy and Delia than we probably would have otherwise. What started as a pizza order turned into conversations, jokes, and eventually a real friendship. They became great customers — and even better friends.

In fact, they became such good friends that they even came to Charlie’s wedding. Not bad for people who originally just came in for a pizza.

Eventually they moved out of town. But when they came back to visit, they stopped by the shop to get their favorite pizza. So, we decided to have a little fun. We intentionally made the pizza wrong again and brought it out just like the old days. After a good round of laughing, we brought out the correct one we had waiting on standby.

From Teak & Charlie

Somewhere along the way this pizza shop became a lot more than a place to make great food. It became a place where people learn, grow, laugh, work hard, and build friendships that last well beyond their time here.

We love watching someone walk in for their first job and slowly turn into someone confident, capable, and proud of the person they are becoming. If they stay in the restaurant world, great. If they move on to something completely different, even better. Our goal is the same either way — that they leave here a little better prepared for whatever comes next.

Running this place has given us the chance to combine the two things we care most about: people and food. And every day we get to share both with our community.