LEAVENWORTH – Caravan Woodfired Pizza brings fresh, artisanal pizza to any location with its mobile pizza oven.
“It’s a simple business model. You arrive with the oven, set up the mobile kitchen, and serve up to 150 pizzas at a big event. Then you break it down and move on,” said owner Semansky.
Although still relatively new, Semansky focuses on catering and pop-up events, making appearances at Sage Mountain Natural Foods and the Leavenworth Farmers Market. At these events, Caravan typically offers three types of pizza: margarita, vegetarian, and a meat option.
Semansky uses local and seasonal ingredients, such as baby kale and rhubarb from Snowgrass Farm, garlic scapes from Big Dog Farm, and goat cheese from Sunny Pine Farm. He sources flour from Cairnspring Mills in Mount Vernon and Chimacum Valley Grainery on the Olympic Peninsula.
“The whole idea is to bring people together to enjoy pizza and think about where their food comes from,” Semansky explained.
Before starting Caravan, Semansky spent many years in the food and wine industry. He began in winemaking in Oregon, then moved to Leavenworth in the summer of 2015 to work for Baroness Cellars. He settled in Leavenworth permanently in 2018, transitioning into food and coffee. He worked at Argonaut Coffee and Biscuits and, most recently, at Mana Restaurant as a sous chef and manager. Over the years, Semansky bonded with coworkers over their shared love of cooking, many of whom are now caterers.
“On our days off, we love cooking together. We’ll have big potlucks where everyone brings amazing food. It’s funny because we do it for income and for fun,” Semansky said.
The idea for a pizza business came to Semansky last fall when friends convinced him to buy their pizza oven.
“My friend said, ‘You know, it’d be easier if I just sold it to you.’ I thought, what the heck, I may as well see if it turns into a cool dream or just a big pizza oven for friends,” Semansky recounted.
His friends helped him get started, collaborating with him at catering events in the first few months.
“For the first event, we drove the oven down Western Avenue in Wenatchee to the Armour Wine release party. My friend Lily followed with her car packed full of stuff. I had a smaller truck loaded with things, towing the oven that was heavier than the truck’s capacity. We bounced down Western Avenue over potholes and construction sites. I thought, ‘Wow, this is a crazy little caravan,’” Semansky said.
That was the beginning of Caravan Woodfired Pizza. This summer, the business has drawn long lines at markets and other locations. During a Sage Mountain pop-up on June 12, Semansky had a line of about 20 people fifteen minutes before opening.
“It was a big surprise. I felt really grateful. We live in Leavenworth because we love the community. It feels great to be well received by both friends and strangers,” Semansky shared.
Caravan Woodfired Pizza will hold another pop-up event at Sage Mountain on July 9, and at Icicle Creek Center for the Arts for the Clinton Fearon & the Boogie Brown Band concert on July 27. Caravan Woodfired Pizza and Caravan Bread are also regulars at the Wenatchee Night Market and the Leavenworth Farmers Market.