Nickerbokker's Pizza bring unique taste to Evergreen

Evergreen’s Nick Erickson is living out his dream of making great pizzas.

Located next to his home at 507 Solberg Drive, Nickerbokker’s Pizza has been giving Erickson the chance to share his pizzas with his customers since Labor Day weekend.

“It has been mostly locals so far,” Erickson said. “We’ve had a few people from Whitefish and quite a few orders have gone to Columbia Falls.”

Erickson’s passion for pizza began in 2009 when, while working construction in the valley, he got a “hankering” for a good pizza. After doing some research on how to build a good pizza of his own, he found that he had a new hobby.

After that, Erickson began his search for pizza perfection.

“I have made pizzas for groups and birthdays and even a hospital once while my dad was sick,” Erickson said. “I have made pizzas in Montana, South Dakota and Wyoming, so far.”

Erickson was recovering from back surgery last summer when he received the phone call that made Nickerbokker’s possible. A man was looking to get rid of a brick pizza oven and was curious if Erickson wanted it.

“I was like, oh yeah, you bet I do,” Erickson said.

After getting his hands on the oven’s blueprints, Erickson learned how to disassemble the bulky machine and, with the help of a friend with a crane, moved it to a concrete slab he had poured next to his house and soon put up the building around it.

With the pieces in place, Erickson set to work on a business name and menu.

The Nickerbokker’s name comes from the nickname given Erickson by his parents while he was growing up, Nickerbokker Number Niner.

The penchant for unique names extends to Erickson’s menu, which includes such items as the Sucker Punch (red sauce, pepper jack cheese, jalapenos, pepperoncini, sliced Italian sausage, purple onion and green pepper), the Little Whiner (white sauce, mozzarella cheese, spicy sausage, spinach, olive oil and fresh basis) and the Naked Chicken (white sauce, mozzarella cheese, grilled chicken, bacon, pepperoncini and spinach).

With ordering available online at www.nickerbokkers.com, Door Dash or by calling 406-253-9677, Erickson says he is hoping word of his new pizza venture is spreading.

“What makes a great pizza? It’s definitely the quality of the ingredients. You can’t just take lousy ingredients, pile them on a crust and expect it to be good. I think we have all been to places that serve food like that,” Erickson said. “I pride myself on making a quality pizza with only the freshest local ingredients.”

Reporter Jeremy Weber may be reached at 406-758-4446 or jweber@dailyinterlake.com.