Spice behind every slice: Meet Pizza Den’s Sangeetha Jaiswal, Satlakhiya Pritesh, who introduced desi pizza 25 years ago

Hyderabad: Long before pizza became a household craving and delivery apps flooded the city with options, a modest vegetarian pizzeria quietly opened its doors in 2000, tucked away in Kharkhana. Over the years, Pizza Den became more than a neighbourhood haunt; it became a legacy.

This year, as Pizza Den turns 25, NewsMeter sits down with Sangeetha Jaiswal and Satlakhiya Pritesh, the husband-wife duo who built it from scratch, quite literally, to understand the soul, the struggles, and the spice behind every slice.

NewsMeter: What inspired you to start Pizza Den, and why did you choose to go purely vegetarian from day one?

Sangeetha: My husband started in Abids under a different name. His father worked in the railways and wanted him to follow a similar path, but he was always drawn to cooking; he used to help his mother in the kitchen from a young age.

We didn’t have the money to start a big venture, but his family sold their old house in the Old City and gave him the funds to pursue his dream. He started a large place, but it didn’t work out and shut down within a year.

In 2000, he took a second chance with a much smaller shop, and that’s how Pizza Den began. Nobody knew us then. But he did all the prep work himself, and by 2001, recognition started coming in. It was all through word of mouth. We’ve had media write-ups and reviews since 2003.

We’ve always been purely vegetarian; that was a conscious choice from the beginning.

NewsMeter: What was the food scene in Secunderabad like when you opened, and how did people initially respond to pizza?

Sangeetha: There wasn’t much in the name of Indian-style pizza back then. Most of what was available lacked spice and tang, so we decided to change that. We made pizza that was desi in taste and flavour.

Even with our ice creams, we experimented a lot. Everything was trial and error.

Despite financial struggles, my husband made it a point to invest in top-quality machinery, which was always his priority.

NewsMeter: Did you face any challenges introducing pizza to a largely traditional, vegetarian audience back then?

Sangeetha: Things were going well until 2008, when we had to vacate our Kharkhana location. The owner asked us to leave. We were shut for five months.

During that time, our customers kept calling us. I used to note down every single number, nearly 1,000 of them. Three days before we reopened, I called all of them.

On the day we reopened in our new location, the one everyone knows today, we were sold out by 9:30 PM. That day still gives me goosebumps.

Our daily prep starts at 6:15 AM, and we finish everything by 11:30 AM before reopening in the evening. We make all our toppings and spices ourselves; nothing is store-bought.

NewsMeter: What were the first few pizzas on your menu? Have any of them remained unchanged to this day?

Sangeetha: The Desi Masala Pizza was our most famous one right from the beginning. Everyone wanted to try it.

Italian and Mexican pizzas were common, but people were intrigued by the desi twist. The masala is my husband’s secret recipe; we’ve never changed it.

Even the chilli flakes we use are made in-house from Guntur chillies.

NewsMeter: What makes a Pizza Den pizza different from everything else on the market today?

Sangeetha: Everything is made from scratch. We don’t use ready-made sauces, toppings, or spice blends. My husband still handles all the prep himself. That level of personal involvement and quality control is rare today.

NewsMeter: Have customer preferences evolved over the years, and how have you adapted the menu accordingly?

Sangeetha: Surprisingly, customers still ask for the original flavours. I think it’s nostalgia. It reminds them of their childhood or college days. They don’t want us to change a thing.

NewsMeter: Do you remember your very first customer or any regulars who’ve stood by you all these years?

Sangeetha: Yes, there was a small boy who used to come regularly. Today, he brings his children and says, “This is what I grew up eating.” That kind of loyalty is priceless.

NewsMeter: Pizza Den is almost a local landmark now. How do you think you built that sense of loyalty and community?

Sangeetha: It’s all because of our consistency and connection with customers. We’ve always made food with sincerity and maintained quality. We never saw customers as just transactions; they’re part of our story.

NewsMeter: How has the rise of food delivery platforms and online ordering changed your business model?

Sangeetha: Zomato has worked well with us. But we’ve had a tough time with Swiggy. They’ve onboarded people using our name, even though we have the paperwork, trademarks, and certificates to prove we’re the original Pizza Den.

It’s frustrating because fake brands are taking our orders. We’ve had to consider legal action, but we just want to be left in peace to do our work. We’ve built this brand with sweat and patience; it’s not right for someone else to encash it.

NewsMeter: What’s your approach to quality, especially when it comes to ingredients and preparation?

Sangeetha: Our approach is simple: Do everything yourself, and do it right. We make our toppings, sauces, and spice blends. Nothing is outsourced.

We even have a Jain menu, and the Jain sauce is prepared separately by my husband. I’m not even allowed to touch it. It’s packed separately, too. We’re very particular about our ingredients because people’s faith is involved.

NewsMeter: In the age of plant-based trends, have you considered adding vegan options to your menu?

Sangeetha: We haven’t tried vegan options yet, but we’ve focused a lot on our Jain menu. We have a strong customer base among the Jain and Marwari communities. Their trust means everything to us.

NewsMeter: What’s the most heartwarming compliment or customer story that you’ll never forget?

Sangeetha: It’s always special when customers bring in their kids and say, “This is what I used to eat here when I was your age.” That continuity, across generations, is the biggest compliment.

NewsMeter: If you could go back to the first day of Pizza Den with everything you know now, what would you do differently?

Sangeetha: We would have handled branding and documentation more carefully. That way, we could have avoided the fake brand issues. Otherwise, every mistake taught us something, so we wouldn’t want to change the journey.

NewsMeter: Have you ever considered expanding to new locations, or is the single-store charm important to you?

Sangeetha: In 2017, we opened a counter in a food court in Hitech City, but it shut down in six months. Even Sarath City Mall invited us to open a branch.

But with so many fake outlets using our name, we’ve become cautious. Once we’re able to resolve those issues, we definitely plan to expand.

NewsMeter: As you look ahead, what’s your vision for Pizza Den for the next 25 years?

Sangeetha: We want to preserve the core of what we’ve built, the quality, the originality, the connection. We hope to expand the brand, but only in a way that doesn’t dilute what Pizza Den stands for.