COALFIRE PIZZA

What COALFIRE PIZZA does

Coal Fire Pizza, legally The Coal Fire Group, is a privately held multi-location restaurant chain operating five full-service dine-in locations across Maryland (Ellicott City, Frederick, Gaithersburg, Gambrills, and Hunt Valley). Its core product is artisan-style pizza cooked in a proprietary 900-degree anthracite coal-fired oven sourced from Northeastern Pennsylvania, supported by aged hand-tossed dough, in-house daily handmade mozzarella, and three original sauces (Classic, Signature, Spicy). The broader menu extends to wings, salads, sandwiches, pasta, appetizers, and desserts, with specialty dietary options including gluten-free and cauliflower crust pizzas plus a vegan cheese add-on.

The business operates four distinct revenue streams: dine-in restaurant sales, carryout and online ordering via Toasttab, third-party delivery via DoorDash, and catering via ezCater for events of 10 to 100+ guests with delivery on orders over $200. A fundraising program donates 20% of qualifying dine-in, carryout, and catering sales back to schools, sports teams, animal shelters, and non-profits, functioning as both a community engagement and grassroots marketing channel. Distribution is supported by location-specific phone and email contacts, a corporate website (coalfireonline.com), and active Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Commercial activity is concentrated exclusively within the Maryland market with no disclosed expansion outside the state. Ownership and operational leadership are held by CEO Dennis Sharoky and Marketing Director Alexandra Sharoky under a founder/management-led private ownership structure. No external institutional investors, funding rounds, M&A activity, or public listing are indicated in the available data.

Name

COALFIRE PIZZA

Legal name

The Coal Fire Group

Website

https://coalfireonline.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Coal Fire Pizza is a privately held, five-location Maryland restaurant chain serving artisan pizzas cooked in 900-degree anthracite coal ovens, plus salads, sandwiches, and pasta, to families and event customers via dine-in, online ordering, delivery, and catering.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Casual Dining Restaurant — Coal-Fired Artisan Pizza

NAICS

Limited-Service Restaurants (722513), Caterers (722320), Caterers (72232)

akta.pro primary industry

Pizza Fast Casual (THAFABAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Pizza, Wings & Oven-Baked Prepared Foods (In-Store Concepts) (CRAHAKAE), Full-Service Catering (Off-Premise) (HSACAGAA)

Keywords

• Artisan pizza restaurant
• Coal-fired pizza
• Italian-inspired menu
• Restaurant catering services
• Fundraising restaurant program

Headquarters

HQ city

Ellicott City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Dine-In Restaurant Sales: Full-service dine-in restaurant operations at 5 Maryland locations offering Italian-inspired menu including coal-fired pizzas, salads, sandwiches, pasta, appetizers, and desserts. Bar service available at multiple locations with happy hour specials.
2. Carryout/Online Ordering: Customer carryout orders placed through Toasttab online ordering platform at all 5 locations. Includes DoorDash delivery partnership for third-party delivery services.
3. Catering Services: Catering for events from 10 to 100+ people including business luncheons, birthday parties. Menu includes pizzas, salads, sandwiches, pasta. Delivery offered for orders over $200. Partnered with ezCater for catering orders.
4. Fundraising Program: Donates 20% of dine-in, carryout, and catering sales generated by fundraiser event attendees back to schools, sports teams, animal shelters, and non-profit organizations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Coal Fire Pizza operates a five-location casual dining restaurant chain across Maryland (Ellicott City, Frederick, Gaithersburg, Gambrills, Hunt Valley) serving coal-fired artisan-style thin-crust pizzas cooked in 900-degree anthracite coal ovens. The Italian-inspired menu also includes handmade salads, sandwiches, pasta, appetizers, wings, and desserts. The company additionally provides event catering for 10–100+ guests, a fundraising program that donates 20% of sales to schools/sports teams/non-profits, gift cards, and online ordering for carryout and delivery via Toast Tab and DoorDash.

Product overview

Coal Fire Pizza operates as a multi-location restaurant chain with a single unified dining concept. The core offering is coal-fired artisan pizza, cooked at 900 degrees in anthracite coal ovens to achieve a thin crust charred to perfection. Supporting products include an Italian-inspired menu of wings, salads, sandwiches, and pasta dishes. Add-on services include catering (with delivery for orders over $200), a fundraising program (20% donation back to organizations), and gift cards. Digital ordering is enabled through Toast Tab (carryout) and DoorDash (delivery) integrations across five Maryland locations. Specialty dietary options include gluten-free and cauliflower crust pizzas with vegan cheese.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Coal Fire Pizza Dine-In Restaurant Casual dining restaurant offering coal-fired artisan pizzas and a full Italian-inspired menu served at five Maryland locations (Ellicott City, Frederick, Gaithersburg, Gambrills, Hunt Valley) for individual and family diners.
• Catering Services Off-premises catering service for events of 10 to 100+ guests featuring pizzas, salads, sandwiches, and pasta, available for business luncheons, birthday parties, and similar group events through ezCater.
• Coal Fire Fundraiser Program Structured fundraising program for schools, sports teams, animal shelters, and non-profit organizations in which Coal Fire donates 20% of sales generated by event attendees back to the participating organization.
• Gift Cards Digital and physical gift cards redeemable at any of the five Coal Fire Pizza locations across Maryland.
• Online Ordering (Carryout & Delivery) Digital ordering service enabling carryout orders through Toast Tab at all five locations and DoorDash delivery, allowing guests to order the full menu online for pickup or home delivery.

Quantifiable outcome

• Donates 20% of sales back to qualifying fundraising organizations
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• DoorDashcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party delivery partnership allowing customers to order Coal Fire pizza for delivery through the DoorDash platform at all five Maryland locations. Customers are directed to DoorDash website to place orders.
• ToasttabcoreTechnology or IntegrationOnline ordering platform provider for carryout orders. All five Coal Fire locations have dedicated Toasttab ordering pages for customer carryout orders and gift card sales.
• ezCatercoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCatering platform partnership for business and event catering orders. Customers can order catering through ezCater brand portal for delivery and pickup.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• &pizza: &pizza operates a fast-casual, build-your-own pizza chain on the East Coast with a strong design and tech-forward ordering story. Closely comparable to Coal Fire's fast-casual, multi-unit regional positioning, though at significantly larger scale.
• Pieology: Pieology operates a fast-casual, build-your-own pizza chain with comparable sauce/topping customization and multi-state footprint. Direct overlap in customer use case and menu structure.
• MOD Pizza: MOD Pizza is a national fast-casual, build-your-own pizza chain with a similar menu architecture (personal-sized pizzas, multiple sauces/toppings). Comparable in format and customer use case to Coal Fire's build-your-own model.
• Blaze Pizza: Blaze Pizza is a national fast-casual, build-your-own pizza concept with high-heat ovens and a similar dine-in/carryout/delivery footprint. Closely comparable in cooking technique emphasis and value-tier pricing.
• Mellow Mushroom: Mellow Mushroom is a regional pizza chain with a distinctive concept identity, dine-in bar experience, and specialty pies. Comparable to Coal Fire in operating a differentiated, non-national-chain regional pizza brand.
• Marco's Pizza: Marco's Pizza is a growing franchise pizza chain with dine-in, carryout, and delivery. Comparable in pizza-centric menu and multi-unit regional expansion, though at significantly larger franchise scale.

Broad incumbents

• California Pizza Kitchen: California Pizza Kitchen is a broader casual-dining chain with a pizza-centric menu, full bar service, and catering. Comparable in offering artisan-style pizza with dine-in and catering, but at national scale and with a wider menu.
• Papa John's: Papa John's is a national pizza delivery/takeout chain. Overlaps with Coal Fire on pizza carryout and delivery occasions, though it competes on convenience and price rather than artisan positioning.
• Domino's: Domino's is the dominant national pizza delivery chain with strong digital ordering. Comparable to Coal Fire on carryout and delivery use cases, but at massive scale and with a value-oriented positioning.

Emerging players

• Grimaldi's Pizzeria: Grimaldi's is a coal-fired brick-oven pizzeria chain emphasizing traditional cooking methods and dine-in experience. Directly comparable to Coal Fire's coal-fired oven heritage and artisan positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CoalFireRestaurants
• Instagraminstagram.com/coal_fire_pizza
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/coalfire-pizza

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about COALFIRE PIZZA