Our Story

Established in April

In 2017, Barney, our owner, founded Stone Pizza. Beginning with a single horse trailer from an auction, he transformed it into a mobile pizzeria.

Barney tirelessly sold pizza wherever possible to build a himself a customer base. Fortunately, village pubs like the Duck Inn in Pett Bottom and the Red Lion in Hernehill welcomed us, gaining us loyal customers.

The overwhelming support led to a weekly visit to Littlebourne village every Thursday evening, where locals eagerly ordered our pizzas for dinner, making it a tremendous success for which we’re thankful.

Our first summer

Riding on our pub success, we expanded to local campsites, becoming the go-to for hungry campers on their UK getaways. Summer was a feast for us as we dished out pizzas at Chilham Chase in Chilham Castle, savored the best at Biddenden Vineyard events, and by the end of our debut summer, the word had spread.

Our hard work earned us our first booking in London, and with a newly renovated second trailer, we kicked off some serious planning for a winner 2018 season.

The adventure was just getting started!

The Land Rover

In early 2018, we were able to expand the business with two new units!

First off, there’s Barney’s favourite – a one off, 2002 Land Rover Defender in glorious green.

He worked hard, to turn it into the ultimate unique catering set up for our larger events.

Then, we brought in our first-ever 20ft container, set up as a permanent base for campsites, making sure we could serve happy campers 24/7!

Large Concerts

Adding new units wasn’t the only game-changer for 2018 – we also locked in some seriously diverse events.

After our first successful London booking, we found ourselves cooking at concerts for the likes of Little Mix, Steps, A-ha, and Razorlight.

Little Mix’s gig still holds the record – 30,000 attendees in just 4 hours!

Talk about working under high pressure!

Serving The Stars

Expanding our business enabled us to connect with remarkable individuals like Mike Brown, an England rugby fullback, and Zara McDermott from Made in Chelsea.

To accommodate our growth, we introduced our fifth unit – the double oven, featuring two ovens for increased efficiency.

It was a necessary addition!

We became Barney & the Pizza in July

In 2019, a minor setback prompted a name change, leading us to become ‘Barney & the Pizza’ by July.

Despite this, the year marked a positive beginning, with the launch of our first website.

We not only embraced digital investments but also consistently reinvested in top-notch equipment, including a new branded gazebo and various pizza tools, maintaining high standards of operation.

Cooking at Goodwood in April

The highlight of 2019 was our first invitation to Goodwood. Beginning with the Members Meet in April, we returned to cook at their Goodwood Revival and Goodwood Festival of Speed events.

Goodwood has become an annual presence within the Barney & the Pizza dairy as our team enjoy cooking there time and time again.

Our catering setup for these prestigious events now includes two or more ovens to keep up with the high demand.

Cooking for Selfridges in June

Armed with two years of experience our small business was starting to get recognised, leading us to a memorable summer where we catered pizza for the entire staff at Selfridges on Oxford Street.

Despite the challenge of preparing over 600 pizzas in three hours, our dedicated team of eight, armed with just three ovens, pulled off an impressive feat.

The positive reception from the Selfridges staff added an extra layer of satisfaction to our hard work and confirmed our small business was making a difference.

When Covid Hit

Throughout the two years of COVID, we navigated through by innovating and introducing a takeaway service from our home in the Kent countryside.

We were fortunate to serve the surrounding villages five days a week, and the overwhelming demand for our takeaway was an unexpected and delightful surprise.

Many saying it was such a nice thing to do during such a tough time, in fact we still receive phone calls from customers trying to make orders now.

We introduced a DIY Pizza Kit in June

For those unable to experience the Barney & the Pizza Takeaway, we introduced a way to bring the pizza experience to their homes.

We launched our DIY pizza kits, when customers ordered we would send out two doughs along with all the delightful topping ingredients.

These kits meant customers could create their own pizza by cooking them in their own oven, ensuring they could enjoy freshest pizza in the comfort and safety of their own home.

The year of Campsites

With the easing of COVID regulations, we were fortunate to embrace the flourishing UK campsite market.

Given our longstanding collaboration with campsites, it was a privilege to be a part of this resurgence.

Returning to our regular spots, we had the pleasure of serving thousands during the summer at various UK campsites.

We got creative

While the pandemic led to the cancellation or postponement of over 50 bookings, only allowing for two weddings, there was a silver lining.

COVID sparked a new collaboration with Folkestone Harbour, where we were invited to contribute to their COVID-friendly drive-in cinemas, establishing a positive outcome amid the challenges.

We launched Agnes Outdoors in May

During the pandemic, we utilized the downtime to pursue a long-desired project – crafting our own pizza ovens.

By the close of 2020, we successfully launched Agnes Outdoors, our sister business, offering DIY kits for online purchase.

Now, our customers can assemble these ovens in their gardens, enjoying pizzeria quality pizza at home.

We also exclusively use Agnes ovens across all our units.

We got residency at Folkestone Harbour in April

In April 2021, Folkestone Harbour embraced us as permanent residents in the Goods Yard, a delightful seaside food market offering diverse entertainment, from international sports to blockbuster films on their sizable container screen.

Our initial setup in a modest shed marked the beginning of our presence in this vibrant location.

The return of Weddings

2021 brought the return of small wedding bookings post-COVID and lockdown.

Our team was grateful and thrilled to be back, actively working once again.

Folkestone Harbour

In 2022, we experienced our most significant year to date. Building upon our flourishing presence in Folkestone Harbour, we navigated a bustling season with remarkable sporting events like the Women’s Euros and Men’s Football World Cup.

We not only metaphorically expanded but also physically enlarged the Folkestone shed to accommodate high capacity.

The addition of a cellar cooler ensured that all beverages remained consistently cool, enabling us to serve the best drinks without running out of stock during beer-heavy events.

Goodwood

Our events and weddings team experienced their most demanding year yet.

Goodwood, the latest event at Goodwood, garnered tremendous success, especially for dog owners. We ventured into the world of rallycross at Lydden Hill, catered for the queue at Wimbledon Tennis, cooked for the audience at Michael Bublé at Kent Cricket, and deployed four ovens at Goodwood’s Revival.

We added a few more highlights to our repertoire

In 2023, we revisited the great events from 2022 and added a few more highlights to our repertoire.

We were invited to cook for a WHO concert in Brighton, hosted a wine tasting at Gusbourne Vineyard, joined the Festival of Speed with KERB, delighted guests during Bonfire Night at Soho Farmhouse, and spread joy by serving up pizza at Canterbury Pride.

Folkestone Big Screen

In the summer of 2023, Folkestone Harbour treated visitors to bi-weekly cinema hits on their expansive container screen. From iconic films like Dirty Dancing to Mamma Mia and beyond, guests at Folkestone experienced lively scenes with people dancing on tables and singing along.

The live sports events, especially England reaching the rugby semi-finals in October, were a major success, marked by the spirited consumption of Guinness by the enthusiastic audience.

2024 will see us…

This year marks our grand return with exciting developments.

We’re in the process of establishing a second permanent residence, engaging in discussions with a major food company to enhance our concert offerings, and as you read this, our new website is officially live!

Watch this space!