Fresca on Addison

I've eaten at Fresca many times and trust the staff with my order. Each time I order I ask for a Celiac friendly pizza and each time the pie is delicious and never makes me sick. So happy to have these folks as a trusted resource for gf meals. Thank you Fresca!

Celiac friendly?

Yes

I'm sorry the previous reviewer had such a bad experience, and I was worried as a result, but mine was the complete opposite. I knew I would be going to Fresca for lunch with some friends, so I emailed them to ask about cross contamination and what their safest options would be. They sent me the most thorough, detailed, reassuring reply I have EVER had from a company, and although yes, they do bake bread and pizza on the premises, they told me that if someone orders a gluten free pizza or when they are roasting veggies etc in the pizza oven they sweep out the oven and then bake the pizza/veggies in a seperate tray designated for the purpose. I imagine if someone was extremely sensitive this would still be risky, but they have a VAST range of other foods which do not involve the pizza oven. In the email they even told me which of their regular items were made furthest away from any area dealing with bread. They let me know that they took contamination very seriously, not just for gluten but also for nuts/soy etc, even if a vegan ordered they would treat it as an "allergy" in terms of avoiding contamination by animal products. They make everything on the premises so are very knowledgeable and helpful with ingredients, and everything was SO fresh and delicious. I can't wait to go back, and I can't believe I waited so long! This place deserves a higher rating, as I have had much worse experiences at some of the other local listings with a higher rating.

Celiac friendly?

Yes

If you have Celiac disease, do not go here. My daughter has Celiac, and was participating in a soccer tournament in the Richmond area March 15-17. After her game, we went in search of something gluten free. She was in the mood for pizza, and Fresca came up on google.

When we went in, the place smelled great and really got us hungry. My daughter ordered a 3 or 4 cheese gluten free pizza, and the girl behind the counter said OK - waiting for my order. As I have learned, I held up and told the young lady that my daughter has gluten allergies, and that the gluten free pizza she ordered was not just a preference.

At this point, the girl said, well "there is a lot of flour in here, and it does get into the air". I had never heard this before, so I asked, what about the preparation areas. To which she responded, "well, since there is so much flour in the air, we can't guarantee the surfaces are clean. If you are going to get sick from gluten, we can't guarantee the pizza will be gluten free." ????? At this point, as hungry as we were - we obviously left.

Why does Fresca advertise that they are gluten free??? Why was the girl behind the counter going to take our gluten free order, until I mentioned that my daughter couldn't have gluten in her food???

It appears she would have gladly served my daughter a contaminated "gluten free" meal, accepted the money, without understanding what it could do her.

From my experience, Fresca cannot guarantee your food will be gluten free. If you have Celiac Disease - do not dine at Fresca!!!