Another pizza place?!?!?!

[Chefmillard]

Hey there, former chef here have been living in West Seattle 6 years now. I’ve been toying with the idea of opening a small restaurant but wanted to get opinions of locals. I want to open a small place that focuses on authentic Chicago style deep dish pizza, much like Windy City pie (only hopefully better, though honestly they have a great product). Opinions on whether or not the neighborhood could sustain, or even desire, to have this is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Shawn Millard

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[sw]

Oh boy, get ready for a barrage of “not another pizza place” posts. :-)

Frankly, the one thing missing amongst all the pizza joints in West Seattle is a good, authentic Chicago deep dish. I used to buy pies from Windy City prior to their move, and like their business model. If you had access to commercial kitchen space in WS, that could be a good way to test the waters. You can easily get the word out via WSB and social media then see where it goes. If there is enough business to sustain, then look at a brick-and-mortar location. Would save you the initial overhead and be much less risky.

I am in support of this venture and will send business your way if you do it! Best of luck.

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[PangolinPie]

I wouldn’t say no to any good restaurant in our area, but I really do feel like there’s enough pizza. What I wouldn’t give for a good Indian restaurant, though! There’s only one in W. Seattle, and it’s awful; why this gaping hole in our local scene?

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[wsn00b]

I’d seriously consider investing in an Indian restaurant in West Seattle even though I’d end up eating there every week and burn all my profit. +1 on more Indian restaurants. Please save us from the desperation of occasional takeouts from the one average place we have.

More pizza restaurants – meh.

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[scott]

Lived in Chicago for school, and agree that Windy City falls a bit short. A true Chicago style place would be amazing. Even though people complain about too many pizza places, Chicago style doesn’t count. Deep dish would immediately distinguish itself from all the others. If you do it right, you’ll draw from all over the region, as the fans are out there. Sadly the best Chicago style I’ve had on the west coast is in LA, so the opportunity is waiting for you.

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[Curate]

Yes please! Deep Dish = Deep Delish. Keep us updated!

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[Chefmillard]

I was heavily leaning on the same market opening as Windy City. Though in the beginning I think I’m going to limit it to 50 pies a day, on Friday and Saturday only. As luck would have it, there is a commissary kitchen which I could use on delridge. The only issue I currently see is I am not very tech savy, if someone out there wanted to help me with ideas or knowledge to help with a web based ordering system I’d love you forever. I could also promise one free pie a month for twelve months, with some monetary payment as my business takes off. Please feel free to email me at chefmillard@gmail.com if interested!

Side note: I too agree West Seattle deserves a good Indian restaurant. However, not something I can deliver.

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[Graciano]

Will it be low cal? LOL!!! Getting too old to eat yummy stuff like deep dish anymore, but yes go for it, you don’t know unless you try!

Good luck!

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[Michael Waldo]

Another pizza place? Are you kidding me. There has to be ten already.
PangolinPie and wsn00b – if you don’t mind driving to Burien- The Royal Everest Nepalese and Indian restaurant is excellent.

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[PangolinPie]

Michael Waldo, yes, I do love that place.

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[kurly212]

I grew up in IL and went to college in Chicago. Whenever I go back there, I have to get the deep dish pizza. Yes, we have a lot of pizza places here, but not this style. Bonus points if you offer delivery. Maybe start with a food truck? That seemed to work for Falafel Salaam.

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[DaveB]

My opinion: Deep dish pizza is a different enough animal from thin-crust (e.g. Mio Posto, Pizzeria 22) and American-style (e.g. Pagliacci, Spiro’s) that “Oh, no, not another <thing that we have a lot of>!” would not be my response. I for one welcome our new deep-dish pizza overlords.

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[aa]

I vote no to more pizza! I think it’s great that you’re asking for input. And I get the desire to offer something you love from home. What’s the count of places you can get pizza starting from the north at mioposto down to peel & press? I’m thinking 12? plus metropolitan market and PCC when it reopens. I wish you the best, starting a business is a huge undertaking of time, money, I’m sad when a new place closes when it’s obvious the business was not planned out well. The SBA, small business association has a lot of helpful information and if you’re not tech savvy I hope you partner with someone who is because I think you’ll need it.

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[Jusk]

I hope that you will translate your idea into reality, I will be the environment of the first visitors. I am sure that you will succeed if you invest your strength and love in your work.

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[peelandpressws]

Hi Chef, I opened a Pizza and Pasta place over 4 years ago with a lot of predictions of failure and it will never work. Well we are still rocking and growing. We even won Emerging Business of The Year two years ago from the WSCC. Pizza has so many wonderful styles and honestly Chicago Style is about the only one not represented in WS. If you have a passion, plan and can find the right real estate I say go for it. From the time I opened I believe 3 more places have opened and are all doing well. People might want more diversity and I get that but people seem to eat a lot of pizza because not a lot of shops are closing. Good luck in whatever you decide to do!!!

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[HappyOnAlki]

Cheers to PeelandPress for encouraging another chef!

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[RainyDayResilience]

Thank goodness you went forward with your pizza company idea! Here’s a link to our Success beyond Luck case study of West of Chicago Pizza Company.

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[Lindsey]

No kidding, RainyDayResilience! It looks soooo good. I’ve never had Chicago-style pizza and this is right in my neighborhood. I’ll have to check it out soon!

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[angelescrest]

It was amazing. We meant to comment when we had the pizza earlier in the summer. My mom’s from Chicago, but…whoa! This was such a total surprise. Gorgeous, delicious, a different experience. I crave it!

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