Denver pizza joint replicates New York’s water to make authentic pies

Anyone can say they serve New York pizza, but a place in Denver is getting about as close to the real thing as you can…

High Society Pizza had been a Denver food truck since 2017, before opening a brick-and-mortar pizzeria in late 2024. The restaurant is at 2229 Wildcat Reserve Parkway in Highlands Ranch in a retail plaza east of Chatfield State Park.

High Society is making pizza as close to authentic New York-style as you can get without going to the east coast, and it’s all about the water…you can readily get all the ingredients they use in New York as far as flour, sauce, tomatoes and cheese go, but Colorado has “hard water” and New York has a softer water. So, the pizzeria’s owner, Keith Naegel, bought a machine called the NY Watermaker, which replicates the makeup of water from anywhere in the world. “They’re literally replicating the molecular structure of New York City water,” says Naegel. “It took away all the guesswork for me, and it just comes out perfect.”

The restaurant also features wings, salads and other menu items. Check out the full menu here.