New Belmont restaurant is serving up one-of-a-kind fruit pizzas

According to Poppie’s Pizzeria founder David Cox, the idea for a decadent fruit pizza came about during a trip to an emergency room.

“So, I cut my finger outside of work, and I had to go to the hospital,” Cox said. “And the orthopedic doctor asked if he could get a free pizza. I told him that I would buy pizza for the whole crew, and one girl says, ‘I’m a vegetarian, and I don’t eat pizza. Is there anything else you make?’ I told her that I could make her a fruit pizza. So, that’s where the idea came from.”

In February, Cox posted a picture of a fruit pizza to the “Dayton Foodies” Facebook group, and that post collected more than 300 “likes” and numerous comments. Cox, who operates Poppie’s with his wife Heidi, recognized he was onto something.

The new restaurant, located at 2615 S. Smithville Road in the same retail building that houses Belmont Party Supply, offers pizzas, wings, salads, desserts, and some less traditional fare, including the popular fruit pizza and pizza soup.

Unlike the typical fruit pizza, Cox loads fresh toppings on a pie crust rather than a graham cracker crust. According to Cox, the graham cracker crust is what makes the typical fruit pizza almost too sweet to handle. In fact, Cox bakes the crust in the same way that he would bake a pizza crust to minimize its sweetness. The crust is also gluten-free. In the future, Cox would like to create a vegan version of the fruit pizza.

Poppie’s pizza soup consists of ricotta cheese, three different types of meat, bread and the restaurant’s homemade sauce. The taste is reminiscent of lasagna.

Heidi Cox also creates fresh desserts, like peach cobbler, chocolate brownies and Italian rainbow cake, for the restaurant. The couple plans to offer other desserts under the name of Dessert Therapy from Poppie’s kitchens.

Before opening Poppie’s, the couple owned the Baker’s Dozen bakery in Bellbrook for over 20 years before it closed.

The restaurant is offering carryout and delivery through DoorDash. For every walk-in pickup order, customers receive a free dessert. To place a carryout order, customers can call the restaurant at 937-723-8889.

Poppie’s Pizzeria is open Monday through Saturday from 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. and on Sunday from 3-11 p.m.

For more information about Poppie’s, go to www.facebook.com/poppies.pizzaria.