It was only one year ago that Robby Cunningham started slinging Detroit-style pizza out of his home for free. Now, he’s the head chef and owner of Guerrilla Pizza company, where he’s been selling out nearly every night since opening inside the Hard Hat Lounge on October 1.
Robby Cunningham
Born and raised in Michigan, Cunningham launched Free Pizza DTLV in April 2019 after perfecting his Detroit-style pizza recipe in his home kitchen. “I started messing around with a recipe a friend sent me,” Cunningham tells the Weekly. “It did not come out the first time—it was terrible. I made another one—total trash. But I understood where I wanted to go, and then I nailed it. [My friend] was like, ‘Dude, you need to sell this,’ and I was like, I’ve got a better idea than that, I’m going to give them away for free.’”
Using the Instagram handle @FreePizzaDTLV, Cunningham’s pizza project was such a hit with the local community that he wrote a business plan and began pitching investors. But just as he was gearing up to make his pizza business profitable, the pandemic hit, and life took a drastic turn. “2020 was the worst year of my life,” Cunningham says. He left his job as a bartender to pursue his pizza dream, only to end up out of work with no unemployment support.
“I was pretty convinced that the pizza was a curse,” he says. But then, in the summer, he got a call. The kitchen at the Hard Hat Lounge was available—he just needed money for new equipment.
Cunningham put out a call on Instagram to raise funds, and soon Guerrilla Pizza was born. On the menu: personal-size Detroit pan pizzas, poutine tots and chicken wings, plus several vegan options for plant-based eaters.
And the pizza? It’s pretty perfect—think thick, bready dough that’s soft and fluffy on the inside, with crispy, chewy edges covered in golden-brown cheese. Unlike a typical New York slice, these are generous with the sauce, which is robust and well-seasoned to complement your favorite toppings.
Cunningham has big dreams for Guerrilla Pizza, like bringing back the free pizza program, partnering with local charities and expanding to other cities. But for now, he’ll focus on bringing the best of Detroit to Vegas, inside the Hard Hat Lounge.
GUERRILLA PIZZA 1675 S. Industrial Road, 702-384-8987.Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.- midnight; Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-3 a.m.
