If you stop in and request a special dessert at GoodFellas Pizzeria on Flint’s southside, you might just see your name become a part of the ambiance because the restaurant is first and foremost about family.
“My favorite thing above everything is getting to know the community,” said Misty Dunn, the general manager of GoodFellas. “There are so many great people here. The kids that come in here, they all ask me to make different desserts and sometimes I’ll put them up in the display case and name it after them.”
GoodFellas first opened as a takeout New York-style pizzeria last summer. And in March of this year, they expanded by opening a dining room to allow patrons to sit and dine in. It also includes a bakery with ice cream and unique, custom desserts that are freshly prepared each day.
The family-owned business was launched with quality and community in mind. Their pizzas are made from authentic Italian recipes and high quality ingredients. They focus on the craft and intricate process of pizza making, and offer whole and by-the-slice pizza, strambolis, fresh pastas, and special deals, including a popular pizza by the slice deal on weekdays.
“We wanted to bring New York style pizza to Michigan and to Flint,” Dunn said. “We thought if we got something unique, people would come. And that’s exactly what happened. So the slices that we have, we have a really good deal, $1.99 until four o’clock, it blew up. On a Monday we can see 200 guests just coming through and getting slices of pizza.”
But beyond what they offer on the menu, they’re focused on building a place where families can build memories together.
“The community has celebrated us with open arms,” Dunn said. “They kept asking us to expand because they wanted a place where they could sit down and be comfortable for a while. So we started brainstorming and decided that we had this whole section over here. Why not make it a sit down? I started talking to David (whose family owns the business) and we decided to go into a partnership because I’m a classically trained pastry chef. We decided to give Flint something unique. So now you can get your pizzas and pastries that I bake every single morning. You’re not getting anything here that’s not fresh right out of the oven.”
A Focus on Craft
Dunn is originally from the Owosso area, but moved to Flint in part for her kids and some of the resources the city offers.
“We got wind of Mott Middle College, and so we moved our family here so my kids could attend,” Dunn said. “It’s an incredible program. There’s good people in Flint. There’s a lot of things that people don’t necessarily see because the first thing they hear is the water crisis or that it’s a rough area. And I just wanted to make people realize that’s not true, there are really cool things to offer here.”
Dunn also brought with her deep culinary experience. She went to Escoffier Culinary School in Colorado and received her certificate in baking. She also studied abroad in Paris for two years, learning how to work with different doughs, macaroons, croissants, and other staples of France’s famed cuisine.
“The passion just ignited when I first stepped into The Chop House in Ann Arbor,” Dunn said. “They invited me to go into the back in their kitchen, it was the very first time I had done that. And it just ignited something in me that went crazy.”
Dunn also credits her family support for allowing her to chase this passion. She said she made it through some struggles early in her life, but her support system has helped her.
“I wasn’t in the best of positions when I was younger, I started my life off pretty rough,” she said. “My family was just kind of the ones that were like, ‘You’re better than that, there’s more for you out there.’ So about 22 years ago, I decided to kind of get my crap together and went to school.”
After her education and experience in France, she also spent around 10 years as the executive pastry chef at Highlands Detroit, an iconic fine dining restaurant at the top of the Renaissance Center building overlooking the city. Major construction projects in that area gave her the chance she needed to pursue something completely different, though.
“I loved it (at the Highlands), but it’s fine dining,” Dunn said. “And I wanted to bake like my mom or my grandma did. My aunt is one of my biggest people that I look up to for baking. After they decided that they were gonna do a lot of construction over there, it was my chance to be able to get out of there and then that’s when I met David (from GoodFellas).”
Her baking at GoodFellas combines the intricate technique she learned in her culinary career with family friendly comfort desserts. The selection includes a wide range of items, including her award-winning cinnamon roll recipe, cheesecakes, brownies, and more.
“I think that my favorite thing in that entire case would be the banana cake,” Dunn said. “I like recipes that I build myself, and so everything that you taste in there is from my brain. I like getting down and dirty in the dough.”
She and the staff are also happy to use their skills to bring other ideas to life.
“We’re always open for suggestions,” Dunn said. “You got a pizza suggestion, let us know. You got a dessert suggestion, let me know, I’ll make it.”
For the Southside
GoodFellas is located at 4905 Fenton Road, in the South Flint Plaza. Dunn said she and the owners are proud to be helping revitalize what was once a bustling commerce area in Flint.
“If you look at pictures from like the 50s or 60s, this was like one of the most happening plazas in Flint,” she said. “It’s of the utmost importance for us to help revamp this. We have people come in here and tell us stories constantly. How cool would it be to give them that memory back?”
Dunn noted that there are plans for a daycare center to come to the plaza and possibly a few other stores. GoodFellas also has plans to continue growing. They’re hoping to add morning hours in the future and offer some coffees and breakfast items like crepes, waffles, and breakfast pizzas. They also continue to add dine-in specials and promotions, which can be found on their Facebook page.
GoodFellas is currently open Monday-Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday from 1-9 p.m. Their menu, online ordering, and other information can be found on their website. Mainly, Dunn and the team behind GoodFellas just want to celebrate the Flint community in what they’re doing.
“We’ve got good people in Flint and the community deserves a place where they can come and be comfortable, be greeted like they’ve been here forever, and just have a place where they can call their own,” Dunn said. “We want to be a destination location.”
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