SideStreet Burgers opened six years in the Old Towne section of Olive Branch. Chef/owner Jonathan Mah turned out delicious dishes — yummy fish tacos, imaginative burgers, over-the-top sandwiches — on the most rudimentary equipment.
Soon, he’ll be opening a second restaurant, devoted to pizza, inside the Mississippi Ale House. And, yes, he’ll be using the same equipment — convection ovens — for the new place.
Mah has been partnering with the Ale House for a while now. While he does most of his catering out of the kitchen there, he’s been hosting pop-ups too — tacos and pizza (in the old days of SideStreet, pizza was on the menu).
“I did it mostly for fun,” Mah says. “But also to see how the crowd takes it.”
The pizzas at Olive Branch Pizza Co. are turned up — BLT with arugula and his signature boom boom sauce and a mushroom pie with a lemon/thyme-infused olive oil dressing, for example. There’s a thin crust 10-inch and a 12-inch hand-tossed. Prices run from around $8 to $15.
Mah says he’s particularly adept at taking what’s on hand and making it better.
Mah also notes he’s not packing up from Olive Branch and taking the show to Memphis any time soon. He’s comfortable in OB. He sees the area he’s in like a mini Cooper-Young.
He says he plans to work both places. ” I will be both locations and focused on OB Pizza heavily until it is stable to run on its own,” he says. “Either way I’m footsteps away from both locations so I can be where we need the most help first.”
Mah says, ultimately, teaming up with the Ale House and serving pizza was a no-brainer. “You can’t go wrong with pizza and beer,” he says.
Tentative opening date is October 10th. Until then Olive Branch Pizza Co. will open most Wednesdays 4-9 p.m. and Fridays 11 a.m.-3 p.m., 4-9 p.m.
Olive Branch Pizza Co. is located at 9215 Hwy 178 in Olive Branch, Mississippi.
