From left, Rahul Kumar, Ram Arora and Dilraj Kaur at Flat Earth Pizza in east Carson City on Oct. 3, 2023.
Photo by Scott Neuffer.
A Carson City small business owner sees a slice of pizza as more than a wedge of sauce and cheese. He envisions it as a bridge between cultures.
“I see everything is changing now,” said Ram Arora, Carson City resident and co-owner of Flat Earth Pizza off East William Street. “It’s a melting pot these days. People are enjoying culture. They want to try different food.”
Arora and wife Dilraj Kaur, both in their 40s, purchased the pizzeria in April. Three months ago, having both grown up in India, they started offering curry pizza, among several choices. On their menu, the curry pizza is called “From India with Love.” While mindful they purchased an Italian-American restaurant with a New York style, Arora said they wanted to try something new and exciting, encouraged by customers to use their life experience in the business.
“We don’t want to eliminate the reality of the business,” Arora said. “It’s Italian cuisine. We don’t want to forget that. We just want to bring a small hint.”
The response from customers so far?
“So far, 99 percent of the non-Indian community has ordered this,” Arora said.
The pizzeria is not the only small business Arora has in Carson City. He also owns the 7-Eleven on North Carson Street. It was that franchise’s push for more food options that led Arora and Kaur to acquire Flat Earth.
“You can cut down on cigarettes, you can cut down on alcohol, but food you cannot cut down. And more profit margin is in food. And it (7-Eleven) is a 24-hours, seven-days business,” Arora said. “That’s what motivated us to start looking to the food business.”
The new owners grew up in the north Indian state of Punjab. Arora came to the U.S. at the turn of the millennium. The couple married in 2016, and Kaur soon followed. Originally settling in the Bay Area, Arora fell in love with Carson City more than a decade ago. He remembers the exact day he moved to Carson: May 11, 2012.
“Somehow I was in love with Carson from day one,” he said. “I just loved the surroundings and the beauty of Carson — a quiet, little, small town.”
Because the family plans to stay in the community long-term, the purchase of Flat Earth made sense. They were customers first. Kaur loved the pizza and couldn’t get enough of it, “so it’s economical for me to buy the business,” Arora said.
When asked why customers should try the curry pizza, Kaur said because it’s “flavorful.” Arora said the main ingredient is love but then added turmeric, coriander, garam masala and other ingredients depending on the flavor and heat a customer desires. Paired with the pizza is a mango chutney that Arora called sweet and sour and spicy at the same time.
“Most people I have seen want it spicy,” Arora said.
Biting into the curry pizza, one experiences a complexity of spice, not overwhelming but subtle depending on how one ordered the curry. Arora pointed to other Asian and Hispanic restaurants in the area as proof of Carson’s cultural diversity. He explained how people can be resistant to “outsiders” but then can grow to appreciate different cultures in a shared space.
“Once they know that we are like them and we are working hard and trying to bring something good, then, you know, they adapt … they want to try something new.”
Some people joke with the owners about the name of the pizzeria, Arora said.
“They ask me if I’m a believer in a flat earth. I just tell them I’m a believer of good food,” he said.
For information about Flat Earth Pizza, visit https://flatearthpizza.com.