The Basil Doc's Story

Our History

Basil Doc's Pizza was first opened in 1996 in the Washington Park neighborhood. The original owners, Hillary and David Allen, started with the dough recipe from Pepe's Pizza in New Haven, CT and built their own business around it. The name itself is a mixture of a childhood nickname and the main ingredient for the pizza. Basil is our signature ingredient. It is used in the sauce and as a primary topping on many of our pizzas. Hillary Allen's childhood nickname was: Hillary Dickory Doc, from the nursery rhyme, "Hickory Dickory Doc." Thus the name was born.

In 1999, the business was bought by Mike Miller who has been in the restaurant industry since 1978. Mike holds an MBA and has several years of experience with owning and operating restaurants. However, Mike knew little about owning a pizzeria, so he educated himself about the product and the industry.

Since 1999, Basil Doc's has expanded to three additional locations in the Crestmoor, Highlands and Virginia Village neighborhoods of Denver. The business has received several accolades from various ratings magazines and websites. In 2001, a Zagat.com survey labeled Basil Doc's "The Best Pizza in Town." Bill St. John of KCNC News and 5280 Magazine agreed by calling it "Denver's Best Pizza." In 2002, another Zagat survey likened the pizzas to Van Gogh paintings, because they are so masterfully created.

Our Philosophy

Basil Doc's Pizza is about more than just selling delicious pizza. We operate on a philosophy of healthy eating and healthy living, and this philosophy is the basis for the Basil Doc's mantra: Fresh, Green, Neighborhood.

  • Fresh. We use only fresh ingredients in our pizzas. Fresh vegetables are sliced in-house every day. All-natural cheese is shredded at the beginning of each day, and dough and sauce are made fresh at each location.
  • Green. At Basil Doc's we are committed to minimizing our impact on the environment, so each location uses energy-efficient CFL light bulbs, recycled pizza boxes and wind energy that is purchased from Xcel Energy. Two of the four locations have tankless water heaters, too.
  • Neighborhood. Basil Doc's is considered "Your neighborhood pizza place," because we are only located in small neighborhoods, away from major intersections. At each location we serve a clientele who share our philosophy of healthy living and healthy eating.