Running a 1,200 sq ft pizza kitchen like a machine
Yukon Pizza is not your average slice shop. Rooted in a fifth-generation sourdough starter and a serious love for hospitality, it stands as a model of what happens when creativity and business sense collide.
Alex, the owner behind Yukon Pizza, didn’t start in a kitchen with commercial-grade equipment. He began in college, experimenting with sourdough passed down through his family since 1897. What began as casual pizza parties with friends turned into desert pop-ups across Las Vegas, complete with portable ovens and GPS coordinates sent out to his inner circle.
After years of testing, tweaking, and what Alex calls “knucklehead dough-making,” he started to find his groove. When the pandemic hit, Alex and his wife pivoted. They began making pizzas from their backyard, handing them off to friends in cars. Within weeks, demand exploded, all driven by word of mouth and a growing Instagram presence.
That momentum launched Yukon Pizza into a shared kitchen at the Vegas Test Kitchen. Eventually, an offer came to open their own brick-and-mortar restaurant. A local developer offered to build the space to their exact specifications if they signed a ten-year lease. Alex knew it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and took the leap.
Now operating out of a 1,200 square foot space in downtown Las Vegas, Yukon Pizza is pushing out over 250 orders on busy weekends. The shop offers two styles of pizza: neo-Neapolitan whole pies and New York-style slices during the day. They also serve burgers, salads, and sides, all made in-house.
Every detail is intentional. The team noticed that slice sales drop after 4 PM, so they stop making them in the evenings and shift to whole pies and burgers. The tight menu lets them focus on doing everything well. All sauces, dough, pickles, and dressings are made from scratch.
Sourdough is the soul of the shop. They feed their starter twice daily and ferment their dough for 48 to 72 hours. That attention to detail shows up in every bite. Alex describes the crust as having an "eggshell" texture on the outside with a soft, cloud-like interior.
Social media has been their secret weapon. Alex runs the Instagram account himself, posting behind-the-scenes content and building direct relationships with customers. That early digital traction helped Yukon Pizza open its doors with a built-in audience, rather than starting from zero.
Even with the success, Alex and his team are still very hands-on. He, his wife, and his brother are in the shop five days a week. On the other two days, they work on the business, planning and managing operations. Slowly, they are transitioning more responsibilities to their management team to prepare for opening a second location.
For Alex, being present is part of the job. He still loves working the dough station, opening pizza shells, and feeling the texture of something he started making three days earlier. It keeps him connected to the process and the product.
His advice to new owners? Don’t let your ego get in the way. Ask questions. Seek out people who can help you improve. That mindset has helped Yukon Pizza grow consistently and build a loyal customer base.
Vegas has a surprisingly strong pizza scene, especially once you step off the Strip. Yukon Pizza is a standout example of what can happen when passion, process, and community all come together in the right way.
Yukon Pizza is more than just great pizza. It’s a family story, a business masterclass, and a lesson in building something from nothing. In this video, we visit Alex, the owner of Yukon Pizza in Las Vegas, who turned a fifth-generation sourdough starter and backyard pop-ups into one of the city’s hottest pizza spots. If you're a pizza shop owner or dreaming of opening your own, this is 20 minutes you must watch.
