Back to your hole in the wall, Chuck E. Cheese. StoneFire Pizza Co. opened in New Berlin a couple of months ago, introducing a whole new concept of "eatertainment" facilities to southeastern Wisconsin.
StoneFire Pizza Co. is a national chain of family pizza buffet/entertainment centers that are more upscale than The Chuck. This basically means they cost more, but the food, the beverages and the entertainment are a lot better.
The all-you-can-eat buffet, 5320 S. Moorland Rd., features an extensive selection of foods, including a salad bar, soups, 16 different "wood stone" pizza selections (from double pepperoni to sun dried tomato and artichoke), Asian and Italian dishes, a children's buffet area, desserts and an extensive selection of drinks including "slushees."
StoneFire features a cappuccino/coffee station and a wet bar with a decent selection of beer and wine. We ordered Guinness on tap for $4.50 a pint.
Dinner prices are $11.89 per adult; $5.99 for kids ages 9-12; $4.99 for kids 3-8 years old and free for kids 2 and under. These prices also apply for weekend lunches. During the week, however, lunches are $8.49 for adults and $4.99 and $3.99 for kids.
On weekdays, from 9-11 a.m., StoneFire features an event called "Mom & Me," which includes a continental breakfast and play time. The cost is $4.95 for adults and $2.95 for each child. Children 2 and under are free.
Overall, we found the food to be pretty good. The buffet room has a slightly sterile cafeteria feel to it, but the pizza is fresh, hot and made from quality ingredients. StoneFire Pizza Co. is the first family pizza buffet-entertainment center to cook pizzas in a gas-fired, stone hearth style Wood Stone pizza oven that weighs five tons and can produce over 200 pizzas an hour.
The salad bar is the most impressive, with an unusually large selection of toppings, all of which appeared fresh and appealing. The only down side was the lack of low-calorie or fat-free dressing options.
Although the food isn't particularly healthy, there truly is something for every member of the family to enjoy, including the pickiest of 2-year-olds. Our preschoolers feasted on super cheesy macaroni and dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets.
The 37,000-sq. ft. center seats almost 500 people in four differently themed rooms. The Northern Woods dining room is the quietest room. Otherwise, there's a sports bar-esque room called The Fan Club featuring nine flat screens tuned to ESPN, a very loud Toon City room showing kids' cartoons and Discovery City, a dining room with play activities -- including a massive train table and water station -- for children under eight years old.
Additionally, there are eight private birthday rooms and a family entertainment area that features bumper cars, a rock climbing wall, a three-level interactive foam ball play unit, four lanes of mini-bowling, a children's Frog Hopper ride, 90 games and a prize store. All of the activities in this area have an extra charge, ranging from $1 to 4 per activity. This is where things can really add up, however, we appreciated the plethora of hand washing stations and the helpful, active staff.
A night at the StoneFire Pizza Co. is easily a $50-$75 adventure, depending on whether or not parents drink alcohol and how much is spent inside the family entertainment center, but it's definitely a lot of fun for everyone. Especially for those parents who are still big ol' kids at heart.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
