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Pizza for control freaks

MOD Pizza, a national player based in suburban Seattle, has opened its first Philly-area location - on a pad site outside the Lowe's home-improvement store in Willow Grove.

What Chipotle does for burritos and Subway does for subs - allowing for on-the-fly customization from a cafeteria line - has spread to all kinds of fast-casual dining.

Locally in Center City alone, there's WokWorks (Asian), Agno (Mediterranean), and Eat-a-Pita (sandwiches).

The guys from Peace a Pizza applied the concept to pizza last year at Snap Custom Pizza in Ardmore's Suburban Square. Prices are a flat rate, if you'll excuse the pizza pun: For $7.49, you can top your organic pie with just about anything. They're looking for a second location, said Pete Howey.

Now MOD Pizza, a national player based in suburban Seattle, has come along.

MOD's first Philly-area location - on a pad site outside the Lowe's home-improvement store in Horsham Township (4025 Welsh Rd., Willow Grove, 267-948-2180) - opens Thursday, March 12.

MOD (as in, Made on Demand) also has locations teed up to open in Gateway Shopping Center on Route 202 in Wayne and in Allentown in May. Another, at 522 W. Lancaster Ave. in Wayne, is expected to open in midsummer.

MOD's toppable, thin-crust pie - which bakes in a gas-powered oven in less than 5 minutes - is $7.87. You can also order salads as well as pizza salads (pizzas topped with greens) and milkshakes.