Since his pizza-loving nephew Tayster was in town, the Snob decided they could explore together Brothers Pizza Company, a place the Snob had been once before several years ago. My recollection about it was neutral, obviously not impressed enough to make a return visit. So, the whole fam made the journey across town for a Saturday afternoon lunch.

Brothers’ Pizza is located in a strip center on the west side of Franklin on what locals call “New” Highway 96. With all of the recent growth and development on that side of town, opening an independent pizza joint there was a good call. They are an order-at-the-counter joint and offer the usual (salads, pasta, sandwiches, calzones and deserts) in addition to their traditional pizza options plus one that is gluten-free. There are comfy red booths and a counter inside as well as a table or two outside in front.

The owners of the business do not hide the fact that they are benevolent Christians. There is a halo over the “o” in their logo, and they display positive slogans and faith-based articles written about the place. Their slogan is “Pizza with a Purpose,” and they dedicate a portion of their profits to fight world hunger. In the style of Toms “One for One” shoe program, they send a meal to a hungry person for everyone one they sell. My heart immediately went out to these people, and I hoped that I could tell everyone that their pizza was the best I have ever had. Unfortunately, that would not be the case.

We started with some excellent salads while we waited for our extra large 16-inch cheese pie–a twelve-slicer at $14.99. Sadly, it was overwhelmingly over-cheesed resulting in hardly any red color to it. The pie was thick and puffy with too much dough which looked under-cooked. There was even too much tomato sauce underneath all of the cheese.

On the good side, the ingredients were fresh, flavorful and tasty as advertised. They simply could have been used sparingly and cooked longer and hotter. By now you all know that floppy slices with mushy crust are just unacceptable to the Snob.  If they could only add a thin-crust version for the more discriminate pizza-lover. . . .

It’s hard for the Snob to say this about a place with such good intentions, but there’s just nothing special about Brothers’ Pizza. Not for a NY classic style Snob such as myself.  On the other hand, the Tayster, who never met a pizza he didn’t like, said he liked it. He was especially impressed that he got to see them make the pie which gave him comfort that everything was fresh and not frozen. He even made a new friend when he found out that our hostess also likes to put Ranch dressing on her pizza. When asked why he puts Ranch on pizza and everything else for that matter, all he had to say was “it’s good.”

PIZZA SNOB RATING     *** Better Than Dominos
Brothers’ Pizza Company
1441 Tennessee 96
Reid Hill Common, Corner of Downs Blvd and Hwy 96 W.
Franklin, TN 37064
615-791-8383
www.brotherspizzacompany.com