Mari Kim
Google
It was 9 PM -- had just wrapped up my last work meeting and missed dinner. What I needed was a great slice of pizza. I checked in with a friend who pointed me in the direction of a couple of places… That were already closed. It's one of the things to get used to about being in Eugene…puzzlingly, despite it being a serious collegetown, an awful lot of things seem to close down by 9 PM….
This one popped up, thankfully, as being open. It was a 15 minute drive away but what's a girl with a hankering for pizza to do? I hopped in my car and drove. I walked in to see exactly one slice of pizza left on the pan. Tony behind the counter understood the significance and cheered for me saying it must've been meant for me. That was a fantastic welcome into a new venue, and then to add a dollop of joy, to an already happy situation, he called me the lucky one -- a title I decided to affirm with gratitude -- and slipped my slice inside the oven.
Fascinated I looked around: it was like a pizzaria back East: money taped to the walls, photos of customers, and a genuine pizza challenge. The three other customers who were also lucky, got their slices served piping hot, and headed out.
My slice was just about done when a fourth customer came in but he was not so lucky: there no more pie slices; there were Sicilian slices but he was looking for the original slice. I understood and felt for him as he thanked the staff but headed out.
That's when I noticed the Mexican Coca-Cola and Fanta drinks in the cooler, so decided to stock my fridge with half a dozen bottles, because you never know when you're going to want an old-school soda. They were $3.50 each, or the price of a cup of coffee. The slice of pizza was six dollars and change.
I thanked the pizza maker, Danny, and Tony who was all charm and service. Looking forward to the next time I need a late night pizza.