Naples Calzone Company
5030 Gull RoadRemember when Ghost Kitchens became a thing? We’d get some new restaurant pop up on DoorDash and everyone would get excited only to find out it was just a brand working out of the kitchen at Fazoli’s.
Those places still exist but there’s also a trend where brands are just rebranding a certain part of their menu as entirely new online only restaurant. Ever see Pasqually’s Pizza? It’s Chuck E. Cheese. Cosmic Wings? Yeah, that’s just Applebees.
I started seeing Facebook posts from a new calzone place in Kalamazoo. It wasn’t listing an address anywhere and was encouraging people to order through DoorDash. I got really curious once I clicked on DoorDash and saw what the pick up location was. It’s not a national chain. It’s a local chain so I had to give it a try.
Naples Calzone Company is a Ghost Kitchen that works out of the Kazoopy’s Pizza location on Gull Road. The restaurant specializes in calzones but they also offer a few pizza options. The only way to order is through DoorDash. You can’t walk in to the restaurant nor can you call in an order. Obviously it’s through DoorDash so you can have your calzone delivered but if you pick it up yourself, you’ll have to go to the Kazoopy’s on Gull Road and Rockingham in Kalamazoo Township. When you get there, you won’t see any signs anywhere, inside or out, that you’re at the right place. You’ll just have to trust the DoorDash address and ask for your DoorDash order at the counter.
I put in an order for a Build Your Own calzone and an order of Italian Herb Bread. The cost was just a little under $20 and it was ready to be picked up by the time I drove from my office in downtown Kalamazoo out to Gull Road.
Like I mentioned earlier, you can’t order in store….but if you place a DoorDash order and pick it up yourself, there is seating in the restaurant you could theoretically sit down and eat.
I did not sit down and eat though. I took it back to the office.
I started eating the Italian Herb bread on the ride back. I got stuck at a couple of traffic lights and by a train so it was gone by the time I got back. The Italian Herb bread will look and taste similar to the Italian Kazoopy Bread. The box contains eight bread sticks covered in a garlicy, salty Italian herb seasoning. There’s a cup of marinara included for dipping but I was driving so I didn’t get to use it for the breadsticks. The Italian Herb Kazoopy Bread has become a go-to when I order Kazoopy’s and this is the same stuff so I’m really glad I ordered this side to go with my calzone.
I did the Build Your Own Calzone because all of the ones they have created has peppers or onions or something in them I don’t like. There didn’t seem to be a limit on how many toppings you could pick so I did pepperoni, Italian sausage, jalapenos and cheese. The calzone had the Italian herb seasoning on top so it made the calzone a bit salty.
When I ripped it apart to eat, the cheese came oozing out at me. The meat was layered up to give the calzone a bit of height and the jalapeno rings had melted into the cheese. I always forget I order jalapenos until I take a bite and get that spicy surprise. I don’t often eat calzones but this one could become a regular order for me. I love the saltiness that comes from the seasoning on top and from the pepperoni. It sounds like it could be too much but it’s not. It’s really delicious.
Brands tend to do these ghost kitchens for specific products to hide who they are. That’s not the case with Naples Calzone Company. I think it’s a pretty genius marketing strategy. I would never think of ordering calzones from Kazoopy’s. I love their pizza too much. This was a way to get me thinking and try something new. Ordering a pizza isn’t always feasible. This gives me an option for something that’s more grab and go but still as delicious as a Kazoopy’s pizza.
SW Michigan Dining 