Homerun Pizza Knuckle balls

Cynthia Caughie, owner of Homerun Pizza, joins us in the studio today on Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras.

Collin McDonnell and Ava Kemper from Henhouse Brewing Co. are also in today. Listen to their conversation with Herlinda and Steve Jaxon on this separate podcast episode, right here. (coming soon, check back later this eve 11-21) Lauren Schwing from Alliance Medical Center is also staying in the studio, to talk about their Giving Tuesday initiatives associated with Henhouse and Homerun Pizza, after telling us about that also in the previous segment of The Drive.

Homerun Pizza has been around for 20 years and Cynthia Caughie has owned it for the last five years. She was a server there for 13 years and then had the opportunity to take ownership. That happened after the Tubbs fire. Her mantra is “Community supporting community.” Check out the Homerun Pizza website and socials to see Cynthia tell all about it.

They make their pizza dough and their sauce from scratch daily. Their signature dish is the Knuckle Ball. It is like a small round calzone, pizza crust stuffed with mozzarella cheese and either peperoni or bacon. Steve Jaxon gives the authentic Napoletano pronunciation “muzzarell” for mozzarella.* You can tell he heard the dialect around his home as a child, as many Italian Americans once did.

Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more.

Homerun Pizza had a party in March and will have another party before the end of the year, to celebrate their 20th year in the community.

They have a menu full of items that are named after something or someone in baseball, such as the Ty Cobb Salad.

On December 5, they will experiment with a bingo night. In honor Ava Kemper and her Hello Hello Hello beer, they will have a full keg of it there that night.

See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options.

Cynthia tells about how Homerun Pizza is going to celebrate its 20th anniversary with Giving Tuesday, by doing it every third Tuesday of the month. It is a way for them to show their gratitude to the community that supported them through the pandemic.

Lauren Schwing from Alliance Medical Center says it’s a good day when she can hang out around Homerun Pizza. They will have other community partners with raffle prizes on the Homerun Pizza Giving Tuesdays. It’s a great opportunity to get a great pizza and some presents all in the name of charity.

Homerun Pizza also offer frozen Knuckle Balls. If you purchase an order of frozen Knuckle Balls they will make a $5 donation to Alliance Medical Center. They make their pasta sauce from scratch. “It’s like my nonny’s,” says Cynthia. They have an extensive menu of wraps, salads, burgers and more. And if you like Ranch dressing, put some on a Knuckle Ball. Yum!

* The name of mozzarella cheese comes from the Italian verb ‘mozzare’ which means to cut a piece off of a larger piece of something. In this case, the cheesemakers have their hands in some very hot water, pulling and kneading a large ball of cheese. They will pull off a piece big enough to fit in the hand, knead it into a ball, and set it aside. The action of detaching the piece gives the name to the cheese. -C. DiMatteo, The Drive Italian translator and etymologist.