AMERICAN DREAM

Rizz Pies & Coffee opens doors, 'A new generation of fast food'

The American Dream isn’t a dream for Alsu Shamuratova. It’s a reality made possible after the opening of Rizz Pies & Coffee, Shamuratova’s first restaurant to open in the U.S.

“I came from New York six years ago with $100 in my pocket, and I think this is really the American Dream come true,” said Shamuratova, who is originally from Kazakhstan and speaks five languages. “This is a dream that inspires a million people all around the globe.”

Shamuratova, 34, took that drive and launched three successful businesses in Kazakhstan. But it was the appeal of being a business owner in the U.S. that spurred her vision for Rizz Pies & Coffee, 656 E. Hopkins St. After just 60days of signing the lease and 270 job applicants, the former Earth Burger morphed into Rizz’s, opening its doors on last week for a soft launch to test its new menu.

“We're really excited about our menu,” said Texas State student and Rizz Pies and Coffee assistant manager Chastity Boyett. “I think it's something that's pretty unique in San Marcos. We're in that trial phase, and our opinion is valued. And if we say, ‘hey, we think this might taste better with peanut butter or without peanut butter,’ then we just go ahead, and we'll try it out because we’re committed to bettering the product.”

Shamuratova said she is hungry and excited to implement her business model, where the employees and the customers help create what she calls “a new generation of fast food.”

“We have a university with 50,000 people, and it's growing with a younger generation that thinks differently about food,” she said. “They eat differently, more clean, more organic. Eating healthy is expensive, but if we can find a way where we can have good communication with vendors, we can provide a new generation of fast food where there’s no fryers, no grease.”

The name of the restaurant is a remix of the word charisma. Younger generations use the word “Rizz” when describing a successful attempt at charming or flirting. The name fits with the charm and panache of the restaurant, with handmade items sure to impress even those with the blandest of taste buds.

From the handcrafted teas to the scratch-made pie fillings, the menu offers a smorgasbord of variety, with sweet and savory items like the popular pineapple and spinach smoothie and the Nutella and banana smashed croissant. But it’s Rizz’s personal pies and handmade fillings that add a little something extra for customers.

Shamuratova said one her favorite items is the Rizz Pie, a mushroom cream, butter mashed potato, minced beef and cheddar cheese personal pie, curated from her own palate preference. Her appreciation for fine food came after years of working at the Four Seasons during her time in New York.

“By my own understanding and understanding of people, I use my own taste to mix and match between other flavors to have the exact end result,” Shamuratova said.

The concept of incorporating new flavors into the restaurant's menu is another novel concept of Rizz’s. Shamuratova said Rizz’s also serves as an “experimental kitchen” with Bird Slice, a co-brand where owners test ingredients to create a crust for Rizz’s pies and Bird Slice’s pizza. Bird Slice operates with Rizz Pies & Coffee as a dual-concept business, she said.

“It’s a new generational business idea where you can test in one location with two businesses,” Shamuratova said. “We are looking for a way to create the perfect crust to have high protein and less flour. How we can work together in the same way, separately, independently.'

Future plans for Rizz Pies and Coffee include community cooking classes and a blind date themed event, where participants taste test items while blindfolded.

“This is our little community that we can share with everybody,” Shamuratova said. “I mean, when you cook, when you try, when you learn how to cook something, you get better. When you learn how to communicate with other people, you get better. So, this is our main goal.”

First-time patrons Holly Doran, 28, and Jonathon Jackson, 34, said they stopped by Rizz’s expecting Earth Burger, but decided to stay and try a smashed croissant and hibiscus tea.

“This is delicious,” said Doran. “The community always needs something new, something new and something different that’s not Starbucks or McDonald's.”

Rizz Pies & Coffee is open seven days a week, 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. The restaurant's official grand opening was May 1. For more information, visit the website rizzpies.com.