The new community pizza oven at Town Center Park fired up for the first time Saturday. The wood-fired dome was a gift from the Yellowstone Club, which several attendees noted was ironic.

Meadow Village residents arrived at noon with pre-made dough balls, jars of Rao’s, and bags of pre-shredded mozzarella. Mountain Village residents arrived at one with sourdough starters they named, San Marzano DOP tomatoes, and burrata flown in from a creamery in Wisconsin.

“I’ve had this starter since 1994,” said Linda Hatcher, pulling a Tupperware from her Subaru. “It survived the ‘96 freeze and three remodels. It doesn’t need truffle oil.”

Ten feet away, a private chef named Marco stretched dough for a party from a house that lists for $14 million. He brushed the crust with garlic-infused olive oil and whispered to the burrata before placing it.

The oven fits six pies. The first batch was a negotiation. Linda’s pepperoni-mushroom slid in beside a white pie with speck, fig jam, and arugula added post-bake. The smoke mingled.

By the third rotation, two distinct lines had formed. One side wanted char and simplicity. The other wanted blistered leoparding and microgreens. The volunteer fire tender, a lift mechanic named Dave, just kept feeding alder.

“It’s good wood,” Dave said. “Burns hot. Doesn’t care what you put on top.”

The HOA provided one pizza peel. Someone bought a second from Ace Hardware on the way over. Now there are two peels, leaning against opposite sides of the stone.

Cleanup was collaborative. Everyone scraped flour off the same table. The burrata wrapper and the Rao’s jar went into the same recycling bin.

Next month they’re doing a community chili cook-off. The entry form already has two categories.