In the true fashion of restaurants on the hill, Boss Lady Pizza popped up out of nowhere this last December only to enjoy the immediate patronage of hoards of undiscriminating CU students. I first went to Boss Lady a few weeks ago after having heard the two best pieces of news I had heard all day- that they serve gluten-free pizza by the slice and are open late nights! With Boulder’s endless supply of dietary restrictions and its desperate lack of late-night options, this alone is enough to sustain a business- especially one in the mecca of consumption that is the hill. It also doesn’t hurt that the pizza is great and the environment makes you want to hang out and return soon.
A good friend of mine helped open Boss Lady Pizza in December and after hearing her rave about her co-workers and the owners for 4 months, I decided I should go in and find out what it is that they’re doing so right. I sat down with Whitney, the 27 year old ball of energy who owns Boss Lady with her husband TJ. I’ve never gone into Boss Lady and NOT seen her there, behind the counter, doing at least 12 things at once in the kind of highly motivated work frenzy that’s given her business it’s successful start. Having met her, it’s no wonder the business has taken off.
Whitney describes her work ethic as “work hard, play hard”. The first two months of Boss Lady were entirely carried by Whitney and TJ and their incredible ability, and willingness, to work back to back 16 hour days fueled solely by coffee, pizza and PBR. Now, five months in, 70 hour work weeks feel like a vacation in comparison. Their employees, while working regular non-sweat-shop hours (don’t worry), are similarly expected to work hard and well. Whitney admits that she’s picky with her employees and has gone through quite a few before settling on the dream team that Boss Lady currently rocks.
The atmosphere in Boss Lady is casual and unpretentious yet professional. The staff is simultaneously welcoming, social, accommodating and incredibly friendly, all the while giving off the air of “don’t mess with us, we’re working”. The pizza itself is a similar paradox. While successfully steering clear of all of the obnoxiously self-conscious foodie-ism that Boulder seems to breed, Boss Lady still delivers an excellent product. And pizza flavors like S’mores, Jalapeno Popper and Chicken & Waffle, make the hill, with it’s glassy-eyed, free-roaming and credit card flashing occupants, Boss Lady’s proper setting.
With potential plans to expand and grow, I suspect Boss Lady Pizza, and the couple behind it all, will soon show up on Boulder’s foodie radar. Until then, don’t forget about BLP next time you’re out late at night, starving, and cursing Pearl Street’s closed doors.
Ariana, that’s a great read – thanks! Looking forward to trying out BLP!
The Hill isn’t just for kids, anymore, it seems. Aion, Illegal Pete’s and now Boss Lady. Those 3 flavors are, to me, like a red flag to a bull: I gotta’ go after them. Thanks for the heads up!