Sandtown Pizza

eCommerce, Pizza, Restaurant Sites

Status:
Online
Client:
PopMenu
Established:
2025
URL:
sandtownpizza.com
Location:
UT, USA
Project Scope:
Font Licensing & Integration, UX/UI Design, OLO Optimization, Local SEO

Project Overview

From Pandemic Pop-Up to Digital Fixture

Sandtown Pizza evolved from a scrappy pandemic-era pop-up into a premier full-service pizzeria in St. George, Utah. Known for globally inspired pies made with local ingredients, the brand possessed a raw, "film-flash" aesthetic—think over-exposed, high-energy community snapshots. However, their digital presence was non-existent, and their preferred brand fonts were locked within Canva’s ecosystem, making a professional web launch technically challenging.

The mission was to build a digital home that felt equal parts Utah desert and late-night street-food energy. We needed to bridge the gap between their "DIY" roots and a high-performance commerce engine, securing font licenses and optimizing heavy film-style photography to drive reservations and online orders for their new permanent location.

Challenges & Goals

The Challenges

Font Propriety: Integrating Canva-exclusive fonts (Fatimi and Jura) into a custom web environment without losing typographic fidelity.

Performance Drag: Balancing a heavy "film-flash" photography aesthetic with the need for lightning-fast mobile load times.

SEO Cold Start: Establishing local search dominance in St. George, UT, from zero existing domain authority.

The Goals

Identity Engineering: Conversion and self-hosting of WOFF2 font files to maintain brand-to-web synchronization.

High-Speed Immersion: Optimizing visual assets to achieve a sub-2.2s Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) on 4G networks.

Conversion Optimization: Streamlining the user journey for Online Ordering and Reservations via frictionless UX elements.

Strategy & Approach

Phase 1: Typographic & Visual Identity

We solved the Canva font bottleneck by tracking down commercial licenses for Fatimi and Jura Bold, converting them to WOFF2 formats for self-hosting. The palette was designed to evoke sun-bleached sandstone, utilizing Sagebrush Green (#317031) for actions and Rust Red (#aa4826) for interactive states.

Phase 2: "Flash-Lit" UX Design

Leaning into the founders' aesthetic, we implemented big drop-shadows and film-grain overlays. We used Custom SCSS to create a horizontal-sliding "Origin Story" timeline over background video, providing an immersive, tactile experience that builds brand trust.

Phase 3: Search & Connectivity

We built a technical SEO fortress, embedding "pizza in St. George, UT" keywords and JSON-LD schema. We integrated ToastTab via an accessible iframe that inherits brand fonts and colors for a seamless transition.

Solutions Delivered

Area	Highlight
Bespoke Branding	Integrated licensed Fatimi and Jura fonts for a 1:1 match with physical brand assets.
Performance	Achieved a perfect 100/100 Lighthouse score across Performance and Accessibility metrics.
Commerce Flow	Mobile-first sticky "Order Online" bar and keyboard-accessible menu accordion for frictionless ordering.
Catering Engine	Built a dedicated hub with SVG service maps and Calendly integration for event lead capture.
SEO Foundation	Implemented JSON-LD Restaurant schema and geo-targeted keywords to boost local search rankings.