A slice of Nirvana in Bay Village

Nirvana Pizza owner Andrea Coats, left, serves up happiness in the form of a handmade pizza to Bay resident, and regular customer, Kim Moore. Photo by Tara Wendell

She greets every customer with enthusiasm. The aroma of hot pizza welcomes them too. Once inside, however, the captivating blue eyes of owner Andrea Coats keeps them in the door. 

That, and a really great pizza! From a place called Nirvana.

Why Nirvana? "Nirvana represents peace and happiness and that's what I'm all about," Andrea said.

Andrea spent years on the West Coast where she honed her business skills; even more on Cleveland's east side. This past November, she brought it all home to Bay Village. This time with the close support of family.

With sisters in Bay, Westlake and Rocky River, the 1979 Bay High grad has plenty of nieces and nephews to help out at the shop; not to mention her own children too. She also has her best friend from high school, Karen, who cooks, promotes and even delivers.

How many years did she spend on the West Coast or what businesses did she operate there? Just ask her. She's an open book and her story is good. Just don't ask about the pizza recipe. 

"That's a secret," she says with a coy smile. She'll only say that it came direct from Italy sometime in the 1960s. 

She works hard (70+ hours a week) perfecting a pizza that she hopes you'll love. Because her focus, she says, is the customer. 

This is the passion of Andrea Coats: Family, community, and an amazing pizza all rolled into a happy place that she calls Nirvana. 

Nirvana Pizza is located at 622 Dover Center Road, in the Dover Junction shopping plaza; 440-835-8100; EatAtNirvanaPizza.com.