Operations

The hot spot: How Coal’s perfected Louisville's pizza date night

After transitioning out of their successful frozen food business, Mark and Madeleine Peters embarked on a 9,000-mile culinary road trip that inspired them to open Coal’s Artisan Pizza in Louisville, a people-first, "date night" restaurant that pairs premium ingredients with the authentic, high-heat tradition of anthracite coal-fired ovens.

Photo: Willie Lawless/ Connect Media

July 13, 2026

When Mark and Madeleine Peters transitioned out of their successful frozen food business in 2009, they didn't opt for a quiet retirement. Instead, the couple embarked on a 9,000-mile cross-country road trip, eating their way through the nation's best artisan pizzerias from Seattle to New Haven.

Armed with inspiration and a deep appreciation for the authentic, 1,000-degree soaking heat of anthracite coal, they set their sights on Louisville, Kentucky. There, they opened Coal's Artisan Pizza, pairing the historic, clean-burning baking methods of New York's original 1880s pizzerias with an elevated "date night" atmosphere, premium ingredients rooted in a 48-hour cold-rise dough, and a people-first culture that treats every employee — starting with the dishwasher — as the most important person in the restaurant.

The Peters owned a business that produced calzones, paninis and a variety of other handheld food products that were frozen. These were sold at Costco, Trader Joe's, Target and Safeway. They partnered with Tyson in 2009 and transitioned out of that business.

Photo: Willie Lawless/ Connect Media

On the menu

That "date night" pizza the Peters created is paired with great service and good atmosphere. An affordable wine list rounds out a couple's night out, exactly what Coal's was built for. They opened the restaurant in 2011.

Mark Peters said in a visit to Coal's that they chose coal because it's an authentic way to fire up their American Neapolitan-style pizza.

"The anthracite coal is the most energy dense carbon-based source of fuel on Earth. 20 million BTUs per ton. They say refined gasoline is like two and a half. It's so dense when you hold coal you can feel it. So, it's authentic. And then it gives a soaking heat. What that does is it allows us to get the char that we want that you see around the cornicione, it allows us to get that same char on the bottom and the sides and the top. Because it's a soaking heat … Further, the coal burns so cleanly. Uh We're required by law to clean the chimney every six months and there's nothing there. There's nothing there compared to a wood burning oven," Peters said.

Mark Peters said his brand uses about 100 pounds of coal a week. It takes mesquite to ignite it, he added, because it takes 800 degrees to get it to light. The brand bakes at 575 to 600 degrees on the deck, while the dome is 950 to 1,000 degrees.

Mark Peters said they went through several different flours before landing on a King Arthur flour with a good mouthfeel. Peters took protein, simple sugars and digestibility into consideration when processing his pizza dough. It has a 48-hour cold rise and high hydration. It's a sticky dough and can be difficult to handle, Mark Peters admits. They make it in-house.

"And then, of course, the rest to me is easy. Anybody can buy the best ingredients," Mark Peters explained. "But we always did. We've studied the cheeses. We use Grande where we can. They don't buy their milk, they have contracts with the herds and they're literally partners with the herd owners for their milk. And we pay 20% over market for our Grande. And that of course is another one of those base ingredients, the mozzarella cheese. You know you can get pepperoni for $1.80 - ours is $4. We've got applewood smoked bacon from Nueske's. But to me that's the easy part. You just budget and manage your business accordingly (and) buy the best ingredients."

The pizzas on the menu at the brand's two locations are named about local neighborhoods, such as the St. Matthews, a classic Margherita Pizza made with fior de latte cheese, marinara and topped with fresh basil. There's the popular Brownsboro, with Margherita pepperoni and fresh mozzarella finished with basil and shaved Parmesan, and the artisan Waverly, which is topped with prosciutto and mozzarella finished with gorgonzola and Parmesan cheese, fig jam and a balsamic reduction.

The menu is rounded out by a handful of sandwiches, soups, appetizers and salads. Alcohol accounts for 20% of sales. Having a full bar was important to Peters to fulfill that "date night" feeling of the restaurants.

Photo: Willie Lawless/ Connect Media

Operations

A second restaurant opened in 2016, and there's a Coal's Artisan Pizza at the Muhammad Ali International Airport, though it is run by HMS Host. Mark Peters said he can go in an audit the airport location's ingredients. Louisville has a small-town atmosphere, and the Mark Peters have friends who eat at his restaurants and report back.

"Hearing your pizza is great is not as good as hearing your children are kind and bright," Mark Peters said. "But it's close!"

Mark Peters said he has considered franchising or licensing.

"I really enjoy it and I'm going to keep at it, but we're constantly building our metrics, our bottom line, etc. So ultimately we believe somebody will see this and think it has value to be scaled," Mark Peter said. "Especially here in a town like Louisville where you have so much money floating around from Papa Johns and other food people. So rather than franchise it, we're just going to run it really well. I don't really think I have the appetite for a third restaurant. Run these well and, you know, I can't fire me. I'll do it 10 more years."

Mark Peters said he considers his team the backbone of his organization and tells this story: When he first walked into his first team meeting of 25 employees or so, he ask them who the most important person in the restaurant is. It's the dishwasher, he said, because if the dishwasher stops and walks out, the restaurant doesn't run.

"But more importantly, because it indicates respect from the front of the house to the back of the house and it indicates respect no matter what you're doing we're here on the same team," Mark Peters explained.

He employs 65 people between the two restaurants, many of whom, like general manager Scott Dugdale, back-of-the-house manager Tomas Gutierrez, has been with the brand for nearly 10 years or longer.

There's more competition now than there used to be, as the restaurant doesn't just compete with other pizza brands but other date night restaurants as well. They've upped their marketing game in the past few years because "it helps get the idea of who you are, your culture, out there," Mark Peters explained. "To the extent that you can tell people who you are, your marketing tells them who you are. That's why it's important. Your ethos, your culture, your background. And, of course, telling people the accolades."

When giving advice to fledgling operators, Mark Peters said they must have both passion and competence.

"You have to have your daily routines," he said. "You can have many people get into this business with passion. But they haven't established business competence. What are your margins, what are your expenses, how are you going to keep your people, all those day-to-day blocking and tackling issues. Passion is important but it can lead you down the wrong road. Make sure you have people that can help you with blocking and tackling."