164. The Rise of Yukon Pizza

This week on The Hot Slice Podcast are 2023 Rising Stars in the Pizza Industry Alex White, Dani Garcia-White, Cameron White, Justin Ford, co-owners of Yukon Pizza in Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. Read their Rising Stars Q&A at https://pizzatoday.com/topics/people-pizzerias/alex-white-dani-garcia-white-cameron-white-justin-ford-yukon-pizza-downtown-las-vegas-nv-rising-stars/.Yukon Pizza has grown from an outdoor oven at a commercial kitchen to a hot on the Las Vegas pizza scene brick-and-mortar pizzeria. Check out bio that Dani provided for each owner:Alex White is a Las Vegas resident of 16 years, and the 5th generation heir of a family sourdough starter dating back to the Klondike Gold Rush in the Yukon Territory, over 125 years ago. He spent a decade working in the film and television industry, while also building his skills as a backyard pizza maker. When the pandemic happened Alex, his wife Dani, brother Cameron, and good friend Chef Justin Ford made the decision to jump from backyard pizza makers to a full on brick and mortar restaurant.Dani Garcia-White was born in southern california and raised in Las Vegas. After spending 10 years in the film production and live event production industries, Dani began to form an interest in making pizza alongside her husband and founder of Yukon Pizza Alex White. Dani left her previous career in April of 2022 to pursue pizza-making and restaurant operations full time. She has found a passion for both pizza making and managing a restaurant and looks forward to Yukon's continued success!Cameron White started as a pizza cook and delivery driver during high school. While he pursued a career in advertising and video production in Northern Nevada, he was consistently amazed by his younger brother's improving pizza-making skills. Both Cameron and Alex, who also worked in video production in Las Vegas, had dreams of turning Yukon Pizza into a family business, but they thought it was something for the distant future. However, Cameron's dissatisfaction with advertising and a pandemic-induced layoff prompted him to seize the opportunity with Yukon Pizza immediately. In the summer of 2020, Cameron, along with his spouse, artist Jess White, moved to Las Vegas. Together, they started laying the foundation for the business, collaborating with talented individuals like Cameron's sister-in-law Dani, chef Justin Ford, and the rest of the amazing staff at Yukon. Cameron has been humbled by the experience and the chance to work with such remarkable people.Chef Justin Ford oversees back-line our menu and operations. He has nearly 20 years of fine dining and pizza restaurant experience, having worked in LA and Las Vegas with Nancy Silverton, Wolfgang Puck, David Chang, and others. Justin joined the Yukon Pizza team officially in 2020, when we started as a neighborhood popup during the pandemic. Since then, Justin has taken on the role of Chef head-on, allowing Yukon Pizza to expand its menu into new and exciting directions.Learn more about Yukon Pizza at https://yukonpizza.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/yukonpizza/.