From the Jersey Shore to Sioux Falls – an authentic New York-style pizzeria is coming to town.

It’s a simple name – Pizza Shop – with a culinary approach that’s anything but, owner Josiah Urban said.

“The pizzas are quite large. They’re all made by hand, so it’s big, hand-tossed pies, which is kind of an art form,” he said. “It’s a completely different skill set.”

Urban’s in-laws have been in the pizza business for decades, with an original recipe from 1960s Brooklyn, New York. He has lived in New York City the past 20 years and brought a Pizza Shop to the New Jersey Shore five years ago.

Now, he’s going national, with a location that opened recently in Mississippi and two coming in Texas.

Sioux Falls hit his radar for three reasons: “demographics, being pro-business and the lack of a real similar competitor,” he said.

“Believe it or not, Sioux Falls is underrepresented in pizza compared to everything around the country. Everybody thinks their market has a lot of pizza, but if you look at the Sioux Falls population and look at the pizzerias in Sioux Falls, and there’s a decent median income, the market size of pizza is underrepresented compared to other national areas.”

Plus, he likes what he calls the pro-business environment he sees in the state.

“I don’t want to deal with places that aren’t pro-business. I’ve dealt with that in New Jersey, and it makes my head hurt,” he said. “I don’t want to invest a good amount of money in a market where people don’t appreciate us.”

He plans to open Pizza Shop in a new retail center at Empire Place, where he said he likes the visibility and other higher-end retailers such as Buff City Soap, where he’s a customer.

“And I like when workers show up it’s a nice environment,” he said, adding his starting pay is $13 an hour not including tips and that he enjoys low turnover after training his staff in the making of artisanal pizza.

The menu also includes a wide variety of toppings, from classics to more unique ones such as ricotta, bourbon sauce, breaded eggplant and real maple syrup.

“If you want a certain type of pizza, we can make it for you,” he said. “We have a library of gourmet toppings.”

There also are calzones, salads, pastas and sandwiches on homemade focaccia bread.

“We’re not going to be a discount place where you’ll get an $8 pizza, but you’re going to get a very high-quality product for maybe $20 that will feed your whole family,” Urban said.

“We’re trying to elevate the standard pizza experience for people and give high-quality food at an affordable price but not a discount price.”

He’ll also sell pizza by the slice and use food delivery services.

Before joining his wife’s family in the restaurant industry, Urban worked in the luxury goods business in New York as an entrepreneur and was exposed to “a lot of nice restaurants,” he said, adding he drew inspiration from some of those experiences in creating his menu.

“So we’ll do some things people haven’t been exposed to, like white truffle oil or truffle fries, and in our pastas we use chili (peppers) from Calabria, Italy, which is a little spicy and a little sweet. So we’ll make things elevated in quality, but at the same time, it’s normal food.”

He plans to open Pizza Shop early next spring.