Photographer: Josh Brown
Andy Clifton, owner of Mozzi’s Pizza, 23 S. Main Street, Fortville, goes the extra mile to make sure every customer at his restaurant has a memorable dining experience.
If you are relaxing and eating in the restaurant or getting a pizza to go during another hectic day at work or with the family, Clifton and his busy staff are ready to have your dinner ready. He says he is glad Mozzi’s has earned a positive reputation in the Fortville community.
“This Mozzi’s Pizza was opened in late November 1987,” Clifton says. “I have a long history with Mozzi’s. I had been working at the Greenfield location in high school, and eventually became the Assistant Manager. Six years later, in 1994, I purchased the Fortville location from its founder, Mark Lee, and four years later, I got married. My wife and I are now partners in running the business together.”
The Cliftons both grew up in Hancock County, and most of their family is located there.
“Today, we live in Indian Lake, right outside of Hancock County,” Clifton says. “We love the community of Fortville and consider it our second home.”
Clifton says the best thing about owning Mozzi’s Pizza is the excitement of meeting the daily demands of running a business and the reward of making their customers happy.
“Our success comes from caring about our customers and employees,” Clifton says. “Customers are the reason why we try to make every order perfect, on time and choose to use only the finest and freshest ingredients.”
Clifton is invested in Mozzi’s and even makes the pizza dough.
“I start out each morning preparing our dough to the perfect consistency to ensure our customers receive an enjoyable experience, and they keep coming back,” Clifton says. “Employees are the backbone of our success.”
Clifton adds they are trained to work hard on meeting customer needs and applying good customer service.
“Our employees are unique in the fact that they are mostly from the area, and they genuinely care about the community,” he says.
The most popular pizzas at Mozzi’s are the traditional cheese and pepperoni.
“Mozzi’s Classic is a staple with the classic combination of pepperoni, sausage and fresh veggies,” Clifton says. “The Nacho Pizza is a favorite, layered with nacho cheese, Mozzarella cheese, ground beef, onions and even more Mozzarella cheese.”
Some customers kick it up a notch by adding jalapeños. “Mozzi’s Meaty Pizza is for meat lovers. It’s piled high with pepperoni, sausage, Italian sausage, ham and ground beef,” Clifton says.
Mozzi’s breadsticks are a big hit with customers too.
“Whether you are a fan of the traditional or the creative, Mozzi’s offers the breadsticks for you,” he says. “We serve six different kinds. Our traditional breadsticks are soft and fluffy on the inside. Our Garlic Parmesan Bread Sticks are brushed with garlic and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. The Pepperoni Bread Sticks are twisted with pepperoni.”
Mozzi’s also has Deluxe Bread Sticks with their traditional bread sticks, covered in Mozzarella cheese, and sprinkled with Parmesan.
Clifton’s favorite pizza at Mozzi’s is a special creation not found on the menu.
“At our house, we call it the ‘Henry Special,’ named after my youngest son,” he says. “It’s a Nacho cheese-based pizza with Mozzarella cheese, pepperoni and bacon. Our Nacho cheese is really the best around, and it makes this unique pizza especially delicious.”
Loyal Customers
Clifton can’t say enough about the loyalty of his customers and the community of Fortville.
“We have several long-time supporters of Mozzi’s,” he says. “We have seen many of their children grow up, get married and now become customers themselves.”
Many of the customers come in to chat and also write Facebook and Yelp reviews.
“These are just a few ways customers show their support,” Clifton says. “But mostly they keep buying our pizza. We love that.”
The town of Fortville recently helped Mozzi’s with a growing customer parking concern. With new businesses moving into Fortville, parking availability became an issue.
“Since our store is primarily a carry-out store, our customers only need to park for pick-up,” Clifton says. “The town provided us two 10-minute parking spaces for our customers. We are grateful for the care and concern they shared with us by expediting the problem so quickly.
“We are grateful to be a part of Fortville’s friendly and growing community. We are glad the town keeps choosing Mozzi’s and look forward to many more years of serving the neighborhood.”
Mozzi’s Pizza is located at 23 South Main Street in Fortville. You can give them a call at 317-485-6428 or visit them online at mozzispizza.com.
