Mid City Pizza
Pizza restaurant · Mid-City ·
Thin-crust New York-style pies, zeppole, and classic cocktails
Thin-crust New York-style pies, zeppole, and classic cocktails
"Mid City Pizza — founded in 2013 by the late Rand Owens, who quickly established it as a laid-back, cozy staple for thin-crust pizza and old-school arcade games — has reopened on Banks Street under new owner Tony Cortello. Thin-crust, New York-style pies are on the menu, of course — Cortello has installed a water system that mimics the exact pH and mineral content of New York city water, recreating that true Big Apple taste in the dough. He’s also offering a few Sicilian-style pizzas, Italian sandwiches, salads, starters, and sugar-dusted zeppole doughnuts, plus wine, beer, and classic cocktails." - Eater Staff
"After closing more than a year ago, I’m reporting that Mid-City Pizza is readying to reopen its original Banks Street location under new owner Tony Cortello. The menu focuses on thin-crust, New York–style pies—Cortello even installed a water system that mimics New York City’s pH and mineral content to recreate that Big Apple taste in the dough—and will also include a few Sicilian-style pizzas, Italian sandwiches, salads, starters, plus wine, beer, and classic cocktails. Cortello hopes to open to the public this Friday, March 8. The shop was originally founded by Rand Owens in 2013 and became a laid-back, cozy staple known for thin-crust pizza and old-school arcade games; Owens expanded to a second Uptown location in 2017, died in 2020 at age 33, and the restaurant stayed open for three years before closing in December 2022. Cortello and his partners purchased the business last August." - Justine Jones
"A nearly ten-year-old neighborhood pizzeria that I learned closed on December 10; the proprietors said they tried to uphold and honor founder Rand Owens’s legacy after his death three years earlier, and noted how important the community was to him." - Clair Lorell
"After nearly ten years on Bank Street, the owners closed its doors on Saturday, December 10, saying, “We tried as best as we could to uphold and honor Rand’s legacy in this shop, and we hope you know how important this community was to him and has been to us.” Rand Owens founded the shop in 2013 when he took over a Banks Street parlor formerly known as Lazaro’s and a year later moved across the street into the space that previously held Crescent Pie & Sausage; there Mid City Pizza grew into a laid-back, cozy destination for thin-crust pizza known for its colorful artwork and old-school arcade games NBA Jam and Simpsons Arcade. Owens—often called the “Mayor of Mid City” and the “King of Banks Street”—expanded with a second location and bought Banks Street Bar in 2018; following his death in February 2020 the restaurants were operated by a small group of his friends and family, though some commenters on Reddit felt the restaurant’s quality had declined in recent years." - Clair Lorell
"MCP and MCP Uptown are open serving classic American thin-crust pies, appetizers, calzones, sandwiches and now slices; call to order for pickup or limited delivery for an extra $2.50." - Clair Lorell