When the pandemic shut down the world in 2020, Lee Kindell watched everything he had built disappear almost overnight. His company, Backpackers Hostels, a business he had constructed from the ground up, collapsed under the weight of travel restrictions and lockdowns. For many entrepreneurs, that would have been the end of the story. For Kindell, it was the beginning of a more unlikely one.
Rather than stepping back, he stepped into a kitchen. In the middle of a global pandemic, with restaurants shuttered and consumer confidence at a historic low, Kindell opened Moto Pizza in Seattle. The timing defied conventional wisdom. The results defied expectations entirely. Moto Pizza became a hit, drawing devoted regulars and building a reputation that spread well beyond its immediate neighbourhood. What Kindell had envisioned as a pivot became, in short order, a phenomenon.
Five years on, Moto Pizza is scaling up and down the West Coast. A San Diego location is set to open next month, marking the brand’s expansion beyond the Pacific Northwest. But it is the operational innovations Kindell is introducing that may prove as significant as the food itself. He is integrating AI robotics into day-to-day operations and is preparing to launch the first drone pizza deliveries in Washington state through a partnership with Zipline, the logistics company that has pioneered drone delivery networks across the globe. If successful, the programme would represent a landmark moment not just for Moto Pizza but for the broader food delivery industry in the state.
The menu is where Kindell’s personality is most visible. He points to two dishes in particular when asked what to order. The Mr Pig is a Filipino-inspired creation built around lechon kawali, the crispy braised pork belly central to Filipino cuisine, paired with spicy pork sausage and finished with calamansi lime sauce. Calamansi, a bitter citrus fruit native to the Philippines, is an ingredient Kindell describes as a deliberate nod to his cultural heritage, a way of bringing something personal and specific to a menu that could otherwise have played it safe. His second recommendation carries its own distinction. His crab pizza, topped with Dungeness crab, dill, and lemon over a blend of melted Wisconsin cheese, earned Kindell a World Championship title, a credential that sits comfortably alongside the more personal story behind the Mr Pig.
What Kindell has built at Moto Pizza is, at its core, a story about reinvention under pressure. The circumstances that forced the pivot were brutal. The outcome has been remarkable. And with drone deliveries, robotic kitchens, and West Coast expansion all in motion simultaneously, it is clear he is not finished yet.
