Serving up slices of life at Este Pizzeria

The new owners of Este Pizzeria in Sugar House, domestic partners Hailey Bramlett and Colton Weigand, owe a lot to their humble restaurant. They took over in March from Brooke Yardley and Anthony Stewart, who, with their two kids, ran it like a family business. That familial attitude permeated the graffiti-laden walls of the small, colorful shop, leading to lasting relationships among the staff and their immediate neighborhood.

Bramlett says she was something of a restless employee before starting at the cash register at Este almost 10 years ago. “I was a bit of a job hopper before I worked here,” she says. “I hadn’t stayed at a place for more than a year because I would get bored and move on.”

Since then, she has found the most consistent paying job of her life, an eventual life partner in Weigand and her first opportunity for business ownership. “I started working here in 2017,” Bramlett says. “I was just a cashier, but soon I was waiting tables, and eventually I became front-of-house lead. Then I moved into the kitchen, became a kitchen manager and then, finally, general manager. I’ve made my way through everything you could possibly do in the place.”

Meanwhile, Weigand began at Este in the summer of 2020 as a delivery driver. Because of the COVID shutdown, they suspended deliveries soon after he joined the crew. So Weigand moved into the kitchen, “doing the simple-ass stuff.” But there was always more to it than just work.

“I started this job wanting to own a restaurant,” Weigand says, adding that this vision goes back to childhood, when he used to daydream about opening a sandwich shop. “Good food is something that inherently speaks to all of our souls as humans,” he adds. “A good meal can change your whole day. I’ve seen that happen here.”

Daydream became reality when Yardley and Stewart asked Bramlett over to their house one day a couple of years ago. “They texted me saying, ‘Hey, can you pop over for a bit? We want to go over some things with you,’” Bramlett says. She remembers not knowing the meaning of the visit, but by the time she was headed back home, she had been offered the restaurant.

“They said, ‘We’re going to sell it, and we’d like to sell it to you,’” Bramlett explains blushingly. Despite being their most reliable employee for over five years at that point, the news, exciting as it was, was daunting at first. She had never owned a business. Neither had Weigand. Thankfully, even though Yardley and Stewart moved with their kids down to southern Utah to open a new BBQ joint, they remained communicative and helpful throughout the transition. Now, Bramlett and Weigand share operations and ownership duties in a state of symbiosis, bolstered by their relationship and commitment to building community.

“I really appreciate how much support there is,” Bramlett says. “There’s a lot of emphasis on being a part of the community, and the other restaurants and businesses are all really involved with each other.”

Bramlett says they’re quite close with the neighbors they have in the modest shopping center that Este occupies on 900 East, including Blackhouse Sanctuary and Game Night Games. Este has even provided pizza for a gaming “camp” at Game Night every Friday this summer.

Este has a complete menu but is famous for being one of the only places in the neighborhood for slices. And they have recently expanded their daily slice offerings from pepperoni, cheese and the famous Bee Sting – which heralds a combination of pepperoni, cracked red pepper and honey – to include two rotating specialty slices, one meat and one veggie.

“When you give someone food, you’re extending their entire life just a little bit longer,” Weigand says. “In this type of world, where everything’s so quick, being able to just come in and grab a slice that you know is going to be good, that was cared for in the cooking process… I really enjoy having the privilege to be a part of that now.”

Extend your own lifespan “just a little bit” by grabbing a slice at Este Pizzeria the next time you’re in Sugar House. You can find the shop at 2148 South 900 East.

Read about other pizza places in Utah:
Bricks Corner: Utah’s Taste of Detroit Style Pizza
Choose Your Own Pizza Adventure: Free Wheeler Pizza

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