General Assembly Pizza launches ‘world’s first’ pizza subscription service in Toronto

Toronto – General Assembly Pizza, a fast-casual restaurant in downtown Toronto, has launched what it’s calling the world’s first pizza subscription service. The subscription offers free home delivery for stacks of four, six, eight or 10 pizzas, from $39 per order and from $9 per pizza.

In spring 2020, General Assembly launched a frozen pizza line that features six 100 per cent naturally leavened pizzas that cook at home in five to seven minutes. Its newest plant-based pizza, Garden Smash, launches Sept. 15 and is available exclusively through the pizzeria’s subscription program.

Founder and CEO Ali Khan Lalani said ecommerce was a natural expansion of the business’s current products and services, which include consumer packaged goods, dine-in operations, a dedicated take-out space, delivery partnerships and a bespoke catering service, featuring their wood burning mobile pizza oven:

“Since opening our doors in 2017, we have pushed for the best guest-experience possible – that’s why our dough is 100 per cent naturally leavened, that’s why we have a purpose-built 400-square-foot pick-up and delivery area, and that’s why we’re launching a direct-to-consumer subscription-based ecommerce platform today. In 2020, providing the best guest experience means General Assembly Pizza has to be more than a restaurant. I’m proud to say that after almost six months of planning, many roadblocks and countless pivots – all while maintaining our day-to-day restaurant operations amidst a pandemic – we have done it.”

Executive chef Curt Martin spearheaded GA’s premium frozen pizza line development, and will be overseeing the phased rollout of the subscription service to ensure product consistency is met at every step.

In future he plans to highlight fresh seasonal ingredients on the menu and focus on increasing vegetarian, plant-based and pork-free options.

Pizza subscription menu

The subscription menu features General Assembly Pizza’s frozen pizza line, which is also available in grocery freezer aisles across Ontario. The kid-friendly menu features four classic vegetarian pizzas, including a subscriber-only plant-based pizza.

Mila Margherita: tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, parmesan, basil, olive oil *Vegetarian

Sweet Heat: tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, pecorino, hot salami, chili, honey, basil

Loving Cup: tomato sauce, aged mozzarella, parmesan, ezzo natural pepperoni, wild oregano

Domino Effect: tomato sauce, aged mozzarella, parmesan, red onion, cremini mushroom, jalapeño, basil *Vegetarian

The Cheese Wizard: tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, aged mozzarella, grana padano, provolone, pecorino, wild oregano *Vegetarian

Garden Smash (subscription exclusive): tomato sauce, green kale, artichoke, grilled eggplant, roasted sweet pepper, garlic, wild oregano *Plant-based

At 10 inches in diameter, all of General Assembly’s pizzas are personal pizzas, which lends itself to a tidy freezer footprint, the restaurant said in a news release. The frozen pizzas require no kitchen preparation and cook in just five to seven minutes in a conventional oven or grilled on the barbecue.

How it works

Subscription orders can be placed at gapizza.com. Subscribers choose their monthly stack size and select their pizzas:

• four pizzas, $9.75 per pizza or $39
• six pizzas, $9.50 per pizza or $57
• eight pizzas, $9.25 per pizza or $74
• 10 pizzas, $9.00 per pizza or $90

They can change, pause or cancel their subscription any time. Pizzas are delivered to subscribers’ doorstep in a temperature-controlled recyclable box that declares “Pizza night, reinvented.” Contactless delivery and package tracking ensure customers know exactly when to expect their order.

Delivery is available across Toronto to all postal codes beginning with an “M.” Plans are underway to expand delivery to the Greater Toronto and the goal is to deliver across Ontario in 2021.