Each day, thousands of cars travel the busy stretch of Bluemound Road between Highway 100 and Moorland Road and it's a safe bet that many motorists aren't aware that they are passing one of the more popular, up-and-coming pizza purveyors in the state.
Shane Dillman is working to change that.
Dillman and his wife, Gina, operate Glass Nickel Pizza Co., a popular Madison-based restaurant which opened its first Milwaukee-area location June 16, 2008 at 13175 W. Bluemound Road.
"Getting the word out is definitely the toughest part," Dillman said, while a trio of young employees worked to prepare menus for a bulk mailing. "We're kind of hidden here."
Glass Nickel is located in the southwest side of a small strip mall that features a pharmacy and a dry cleaning business. It's the kind of place that you can easily miss if you aren't looking for it.
"There are some ups and downs," Dillman said of the location, a small space with room only a couple booths and a few tables.
"We are a little bit out of the way. That's why we're working to get our name out. Being a carryout and delivery business, the idea was that the location would work because we'd be delivering the pizza."
The motto at Glass Nickel reads "In Pizza We Trust," and they really mean it.
There are 20 specialty pizzas on the menu, with the hand-tossed offerings available in 10-inch ($11.80), 14-inch ($17.70) and 16-inch ($19.95). Some of the options are conventional, like the deluxe (cheese, pepperoni, mushroom, green pepper, yellow onion and sausage) and the Santa Fe, which features barbecue sauce, red onions and peppers, chicken and cilantro.
Diners seeking more adventure may want to try the Border-to-Border (cheese, Canadian bacon, tomato, pineapple and jalapeno), the Couch Potato (broccoli, bacon and French fries with a side of sour cream), the Thai Pie (peanut sauce with broccoli, onion, red pepper and chicken), the Chicken Cordon Bleu (honey mustard sauce with ham, fried chicken strips and Swiss cheese) or the Breakfast Pie (scrambled eggs, sausage links, green pepper, onion, bacon and cheddar cheese topped with hash browns).
The most popular pizza on the menu is the Fetalicious, which features a chunky tomato sauce topped with the house blend and Feta cheeses, spinach, red onion, tomato and mushroom.
"That's the biggest seller in Madison and it's been our biggest, (here) too, which really surprised us," Dillman said.
The second-most popular pizza is the Cardiac Arrest, which features pepperoni, bacon, ham, sausage and extra cheese.
"That's a close second," Dillman said, "and it's 180 degrees from Fetalicious. It's nothing but meat and cheese. I guess that's geared more toward Milwaukee."
While pizza is the focal point, the menu at Glass Nickel features an array of salads, appetizers like hot and cold sandwiches ($6.30), fried fish and shrimp baskets ($9.95 with fries and coleslaw), fried chicken ($8.30 for four pieces and fries) and pasta dishes like lasagna, ravioli, chicken Alfredo and stuffed shells ($8.75 with a side salad and garlic bread).
For Dillman -- a first-time restaurant owner who left a career in sales to work on his own -- managing inventory was another issue during the first year of operation.
"We have a big menu," he said. "Our sandwiches are made of Boar's Head meats, so they are high quality. We've go to keep a lot of high-dollar stuff in the cooler, so inventory control is crucial. The first year was a guessing game, but we've got it down pretty good now."
Madison residents Brian Glassel (GLASS) and Tim Nicholson (NICKEL) opened their first store on Atwood Avenue in Madison in November 1997. There are now seven locations, all independently owned and operated.
In Madison and elsewhere, Glass Nickel has a reputation as a "green" company. Several stores use LED lighting, unbleached pizza boxes, Smart cars and even a biodiesel delivery vehicle that runs on used vegetable oil. Dillman said that the Brookfield location adheres to the corporate philosophy and has plans to expand its green initiatives. "It's part of our three-year plan," he said.
Dillman, who was a fan of the Madison location, said the company was "on his radar screen" when he wanted to leave his corporate job. "My wife is originally from Brookfield, he said. That's the main reason we chose this area."
During the day, Glass Nickel gets much of its business from the office parks that line Bluemound Road. In the evening, most of business comes from local residents.
"We're in Brookfield, but we also hit Elm Grove, New Berlin and Wauwatosa, which has been very good to us," Dillman said. "We even have a nice corner of West Allis that helps us out. We can reach out to many communities in this area."
At night, a lot of Glass Nickel's business comes from nearby hotels.
"When the Cubs were in town, the hotels were full and we were busy," Dillman said. "We try to work closely with the hotels to keep that business going."
As for the resident business, Dillman said that awareness is the key. "We've got a good product and it appeals to almost everyone, from (age) eight to 80," he said. "We just have to let people know we're here."
Host of “The Drew Olson Show,” which airs 1-3 p.m. weekdays on The Big 902. Sidekick on “The Mike Heller Show,” airing weekdays on The Big 920 and a statewide network including stations in Madison, Appleton and Wausau. Co-author of Bill Schroeder’s “If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers” on Triumph Books. Co-host of “Big 12 Sports Saturday,” which airs Saturdays during football season on WISN-12. Former senior editor at OnMilwaukee.com. Former reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
