Adam Hershfelt Owner of Elevation Pizza

Adam Hershfelt Owner of Elevation Pizza

It was 2009 when Adam Hershfelt, owner and manager of Elevation Pizza and a buddy took a close look at their lives as they were headed toward relationship commitments and family life. Living the classic Grand County dream and working way too much for way too little, they took a road trip to Chicago and back.  During that trip, they dined at three different pizza restaurants, which started the conversation about opening an “awesome pizza place”.  They spent the next two years developing sauces and dough recipes, bringing family and friends together to taste and provide feedback as well as tasting pizzas in pizzerias across the USA.

The biggest challenge seemed to be the dough for the crust.  High Altitude Baking is tricky business.  Changes in pressure, temperature or humidity will affect the quality of your dough.

That’s when Adam’s wife-to-be stepped in. Her family is in the flour milling business, which is quite a science, and is the company that designed the mixture for KFC’s famous fried chicken coating. Suddenly, everything came together.  Adam describes it as a “trifecta”, “the dough for the crust was perfected, Pizza Hut closed and DeAntonio’s moved to Winter Park.  It was an omen”, he says with a big smile.  Elevation Pizza was born.
Elevation Pizza is a special place which has been ranked #1 Pizza in Colorado Ski Towns by ski.curbed.com.  Adam suggests that the success is due to the use of “in-house made and local products, but the true backbone of Elevation is the Quality, Consistency and Customer Service” all keys to good business”.

In 2015 Elevation Pizza enjoyed the sale of the 10,000th Adam Bomb (Pepperoni, Hatch Green Chilies and Cream Cheese), one of the biggest selling specialty pizzas.  The summer of 2016 saw the expansion of the store front at the Murdoch Center in Fraser.

Adam is positive about Grand County’s growth and progress and feels it’s important to give back to the community that has supported his

Fresh and Colorful Salad at Elevation Pizza

Fresh and Colorful Salad at Elevation Pizza

restaurant.  Elevation Pizza’s annual Customer Appreciation Day will be on September 17th.  Pizza’s will sell for $10 per pie until 7 p.m. or until they are all gone.  All proceeds will go to Fraser Valley Elementary School’s PAC, which has recently lost their Safeway Bucks program, an important funding source.

In the spirit of appreciation for Elevation’s special staff, Adam will close the restaurant for four days following Customer Appreciation Day. Adam and his staff will do a trail clean-up day, spend two days playing at the lake and then do a restaurant deep clean day, re-opening and refreshed beginning September 22.

You can learn more about Elevation Pizza and their menu at elevationpizzaco.com or call to “take your pie to a new high” at 726-0066.  You can also find them on Facebook for daily specials.  Carry out or dine in and join the staff from 3-5 p.m. daily for Happy Hour where it’s $1 off beer, wine and apps!