Northland Pizza Factory

I would not recomend this place to anyone. The service was rude, slow and didn’t care, the place is a dump inside. The pizza has no sauce so it was dry, thought it might be better the next day but it was hard as a rock and inedible. I know the new owners are brand new but it needs alot of work to improve, I wish them good luck.

I was out of my urban bubble running an errand with a friend when I saw the magic word on one of N Oak’s non-​descript aging strip mall storefronts: PIZZA! Having never been, and having a strange uncharacteristic fondness for strip mall pizza joints, I decided to stop in.
All veggie month is on-​going, and pizza is my automatic. Don’t order meat toppings and you’re golden.
So why do I, a hardened urbanite and someone with a supreme distaste for car-​centric architecture like strip malls, have such a soft spot for a strip mall pizza joint? Well, it makes me feel like I have some connection with the place that isn’t real, as if I grew up in these same suburbs and ate here once a week with my family. Like the neighborhoods that have lost some favor to the open green fields of sprawl, this place seems frozen in time. An old juke box, a collection of old video games and a neighborhood feel make this place feel like you remember it from your childhood, even if you’ve never been there. I imagine that places like this were in their glory days when my friends grew up in these still-​healthy-​then neighborhoods.
The service, too, made this feel like home. It was prompt, exceptionally friendly, and felt very personal. Granted, we were one of 4 people in the place when we walked in, but the server didn’t have to care as much as he did, and he kept the water full.
The food? Well, it is just okay. The crust is a somewhat dry, thick cracker consistency with some sweetness to it. My friend and I equated it to really good frozen pizza crust. The sauce had some zest to it, but it was drowned by gooey, salty cheese. I’m not one to complain about too much cheese, so a little more sauce would be my call, though the sauce was the source of the only «off» taste I detected. Something about it tasted like artificial flavoring or past-​prime seasoning.
Don’t assume you can add the salad without a worry if you’re going veggie. It comes with a couple of slices of pepperoni and what looked to be tasty bacon bits. The specialty is a pink ranch dressing, which I sampled and found tasty, but wouldn’t want to eat more than a dollop of. I’ll echo another review in the awesome feature of a basket full of crackers to sample with the salad — another touch you just don’t see anymore.
This place isn’t going to challenge for any best-​of ratings, but its a charming little spot hidden in the mostly anonymous blocks of North Oak. I felt like I was living a little bit of someone else’s life stepping in here, and I got to enjoy a decent slice or two of pie while I did it.

I absolutely love the pizza here. The crust is fantastic. I’m also a big fan of the pay day salad. It’s full of meat & cheese & black olives. If you like thousand island dressing go for the pink dressing otherwise I suggest the creamy garlic. It’s more of a ranch with hints of garlic, rather than what you would normally get when ordering it off a menu. It’s delightful.
They usually are not busy, so one waitress is all that’s needed. I went with a whole kids soccer team last night & the waitress did a fabulous job for being the only one there.

Went to the Pizza Factory on another work lunch. I had never heard of the place prior to it being suggested.
It’s a small looking establishment in a strip mall, but appears much larger when you walk in. Tons of seating available. There appeared to only be one other group of paying customers when we were there on a weekday afternoon.
The menu isn’t very extensive in any given category, but they had various pizzas, sandwiches and pasta dishes. I went with one of the lunch specials, a mini one-​topping pizza with salad for only $ 4.
The salad is decent sized and consists of lettuce, black olives, pepperoni and bacon bits. They have homeade pink garlic dressing, a homeade ranch my co-​worker described as peppery, and an Italian dressing that is store bought and apparently crap. You also receive a lovely basket of crackers to enjoy with your salad. Cracker variety is the spice of life, and our basket had 5 different kinds.
If I had to guess, I’d say the mini-​pizza was about 6″. With the salad, it is actually a pretty filling meal. The crust was pretty good on it. My one topping was jalapenos, which came diced on the pizza. This surprised me a little because I also ordered the T-​N-​T appetizer, which had sliced jalapenos. What’s not to love about a place that offers two varieties of pickled jalapenos?!? Well, I will tell you… the way my gastro-​intestinal tract feels right about now.
Aside from there being a lot of seating in the place, there’s not a lot of wow to the place. The back right corner has a bunch of old video game machines that will provide the soundtrack to your meal. The place had two TVs that I saw, but neither was turned on. The walls have some cool pictures of KC landmarks and framed menus from almost 30 years ago. I was rather surprised the place has lasted that long.
Our service was decent, but there appeared to only be one person working in the place. I hope they at least had a cook in the back we couldn’t see. The same woman took our orders, brought everything out, cleared the table and took our check at the counter. I hate to imagine what it’s like if there is ever a rush.
Overall, it’s not a bad place to eat. I wouldn’t go out of my way, but it’s cheap and you could do much worse. The overall offering reminds me a lot of Pizza Shoppe. I’m not sure I enjoy the idea of there being multiple establishments putting creamy, hot pink dressing on salads, but this is the (North)land we live in.