BlackSheep Brings Elevated Pizza Experience to Westfield
Writer / Ashley Dykton
Photographer / Robert Jones
With 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry and as a member of the Guild of Master Sommeliers, Joshua Ratliff is using that knowledge to create a one-of-a-kind guest experience in the heart of Westfield.
“I want to make pizza and cocktails into an experience. When there is that tough choice of what are we going to do for dinner tonight, BlackSheep Craft Pizza and Cocktails wants to be that option of a familiar favorite place to go,” says Ratliff, the director of hospitality of BlackSheep Craft Pizza and Cocktails.
BlackSheep Craft Pizza and Cocktails is now open and ready to create a new luxury dining experience in Westfield. Situated in Westfield’s flourishing downtown district at Grand Junction Plaza on Jersey Street, BlackSheep aims to solidify itself as a community anchor, creating a cozy dining atmosphere while serving uniquely styled craft pizza and cocktails and positioning itself as Westfield’s new favorite spot.
“I think the art is really combining classy with comfy,” Ratliff says. The BlackSheep menu is a collection of comfortable favorites like garlic bread and pizza with a classic, upscale twist, while the dining room offers a sophisticated and elegant aesthetic. The space also includes a private gathering area that can be utilized for large groups, events and business lunches.
“Everything centers around our 825-degree Italian pizza oven, creating a unique wood-fired flavor,” Ratliff says.
BlackSheep excels in creating scratch-made Neapolitan pizzas and handmade sandwiches called piadinas, which are baked fresh to order. Salads are prepared with the freshest ingredients, and entrees including truffled ribeye steaks, salmon and smoked Duroc pork chops are cooked on cast-iron skillets in the Italian pizza oven. The menu also features a kids section with cheese pizza and buttered pasta options. BlackSheep takes pride in providing gluten-free options and will make accommodations for dietary, allergy or gluten restrictions.
“We really specialize in what we like to call your new favorite pizza — the pizza that you’ve never seen anywhere else. We really celebrate being that ‘black sheep’ and being different in everything we do,” Ratliff says.
BlackSheep expertly crafts Neapolitan-style pizzas, a unique type of pizza derived from 18th-century Naples that features a 12-inch pizza with a thick, puffy-edged crust that chars just right when cooked at 800 degrees. BlackSheep offers signature Neapolitan pizzas made with either red sauce, “Rosso,” or white sauce, “Bianca,” along with a create-your-own option called “Pizzavant.” Seasonally, the menu will refresh with the addition of new items.
BlackSheep also offers an award-winning pizza, the Etna, made with mozzarella, garlic oil, pistachios, honey, orange zest, sesame seeds and ricotta cheese. For adults, BlackSheep serves handcrafted signature cocktails, craft beer and an all-Italian curated wine list designed to highlight the flavors of the food.
BlackSheep aims to create an elevated luxury experience at an affordable price, where guests can appreciate the meal and feel the price paid reflects its value.
“There’s a lot of places you go out to eat where families don’t know if they can take their family because it’s kind of too nice or too expensive, but we want people, when they get the bill, to think, ‘Hey, that’s pretty good value for what we’re paying,’” Ratliff says. “We piloted the BlackSheep idea in downtown Columbus, Indiana, where they are redeveloping their downtown, and it was a good fit. We were able to take everything that’s working there and apply it here. BlackSheep is designed to be a place you go in your neighborhood for an experience — that spot you want to take people when you have visitors. We want to be involved in the community. One of my guiding principles is to make neighborhoods lovable and livable. We want BlackSheep to be a reason to love your neighborhood.”
BlackSheep is open seven days a week, with lunch and dinner service Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
For more information about BlackSheep, including its menu and job opportunities, visit blksheeppizza.com or follow the restaurant on Facebook and Instagram.
