PROGRESS: Red's Savoy brings 'Sota style pizza to Siouxland

What the heck is a "Sota?" It's short for Minnesota and is the specialty of the Twin Cities-based pizza chain Red's Savoy. 

Red's Savoy opened at 203 Pierce St, in the same building as the longtime Famous Dave's franchise at 201 Pierce St. 

Minnesotans Julie Card and John Glockner, and the Sioux City native Chad Knudson, co-franchisees of the Famous Dave's location, are also the Red's Savoy franchisees. 

"I came across Red's Savoy, and Julie and John already knew what it was, and I did not, and I tried it, and then we started discussing," Knudson said. "This is a great pizza." 

The company positions its robust, cheese-and-topping-heavy pizzas -- with slices cut into squares -- as a sort of quest to "rid the world of skimpy, wimpy pizzas." 

"On our large cheese pizza, we have almost a full pound of cheese on it," Anna Mailliard, director of brand marketing for Red's Savoy told The Journal. "So, it is a big, meaty pizza." 

"This just -- it's different than what we have here in Sioux City" Knudson said.

Red Savoy's pizza offerings include the "Meat Raffle" (a nod to the Midwestern tradition of raffling meat; essentially a four-meat pizza); "Red's House Special" (the equivalent a supreme pizza); the "Eastsider" (the Red's House Special plus sauerkraut) as well as well-loved standards, like the Chicken Alfredo, the Veggie pizza and the Buffalo Chicken, and a create-your-own pizza option. Also on the menu are conventional pizzeria appetizers and sides, including wings, pasta, salads and desserts. 

Their 'Sota Style of pizza is comparable to the Tavern pizza. 

"'Sota Style pizza is thin, cracker-crust, spicy, passive-aggressive sauce, loaded with toppings," Mailliard said. 

Red's Savoy traces its history back to the post-World War II craze for pizza in the U.S. In 1965, Earl "Red" Schoenheider purchased a bar in St. Paul called the Savoy Inn. He quickly expanded the bar and got into the pizza game; according to the company, Schoenheider continued working there seven days a week until his death in 2017. 

"He had a bar, and wanted to offer his patrons food, and so he bought the building next door, basically knocked out a wall between the bar and this new space, and started making pizza for people," Mailliard said. The bar was outshined by the pizza, which became a staple.  

The Sioux City location is the company's 21st, Mailliard said; 19 locations are in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, and another is set to open in Fargo.