Rolling Out A Detroit Pizza Joint Was Like Going Home For This Seattle Chef (2025)

Jason Stoneburner enjoys a long history of overseeing innovative, upscale kitchens in the Emerald City. His latest project is a love letter to his Michigan roots. Here’s why Sunny Hill feels like the best kind of Next Level pizza experience.

Detroit-style with a West Coast twist

Chef Jason Stoneburner has been cooking since he was 14. “I was a busser at a Ruby Tuesdays and one Saturday, the entire kitchen crew quit. The manager asked if I would fill in,” he said in an interview. After a couple of shifts on the line, he was hooked.

Fast forward quite a few years, Stoneburner landed in Seattle to work for the legendary chef Jeremiah Tower, who opened a Stars there in 1998. It closed after just three years, but Stoneburner stuck around. He eventually partnered up with James Weimann and Deming Maclise, who launched the beloved Bastille in the Ballard neighborhood in 2008 and later Stoneburner in 2012. Now, with Sunny Hill, he’s on his own. Call it an independent passion project, which he owns with business partner, Holly Robinson.

The cornerstone of Sunny Hill’s mission is the pie known as Detroit-style, a stout, long-fermented crust that’s served in a deep-dish pan. Just don’t mistake that approach to Chicago-style. “They’re completely different,” Stoneburner said.

For starters, Detroit-style pie has a history clearly tied to the auto industry, which thrived in that Midwest city for many years. “It started on the assembly lines. Those pans held parts and workers sometimes took those well-worn pans home. Somebody made a pie.” And the rest is history.

Well, not exactly. Let’s say Detroit-style pie is finally having its moment after years of being overshadowed by pizza from Chicago and New York. Heck, you can even find Detroit-esque pizza in the freezer at Costco these days.

For Stoneburner, the Sunny Hill mission was about showing off that style by taking a bit of a fine dining approach to building flavors. “We’re using the best local ingredients, showcasing local farmers and their produce,” he said. Pies are built on long-fermented dough and fired off in a turbo fan oven.

The menu also offers the traditional New York-style round pies and an impressive lineup of sides and salads. “I wanted to do a really good Caesar and treat veggies like star ingredients,” he said. Don’t miss the roasted broccoli finished in a miso and tahini-based sauce, a bright seasoning mix of orange zest and dried dulse (seaweed) sprinkled on top.

One salty perk to the kitchen’s traditional approach to making its popular Caesar is that anchovies are a no-charge add-on to any pizza. Yes, please.

There’s one more wild card on the menu: A wildly popular smash burger featuring beef from Pure Country Farms. “It’s really about giving diners options,” he said. And guests have responded enthusiastically. “We get a fare number of Michiganders coming in and the feedback has been heartfelt. It feels like a little bit of home here in Seattle.”

Speaking of feeling at home, Stoneburner’s long-time obsession with surfing and snowboarding has led him to form attachments to famous outdoors destinations around the globe. “I cooked my way through college chasing a snowboarding career,” he said. “And I’ve surfed in all the famous spots.” Fans of Detroit pizza are thrilled he landed in Seattle and finally opened Sunny Hill, though those early days were particularly challenging. “We opened during the pandemic,” he said. “In the beginning, it was take-out only.”

As spring finally arrives in Seattle, the outdoor tables on the sidewalk and tucked away behind the dining room are often filled, especially on the weekends when Sunny Hill opens at noon.

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