After several delays, the long awaited Pike St. Pagliacci Pizza is finally open and serving up all of your favorite slices. The Capitol Hill location, which sits right next door to Northwest’s main building, opened Sunday, December 29th. It replaced the nearly 27-year-old Broadway location, which shut its doors permanently on the 23rd.
Rumors circulated late last summer that construction on the restaurant would finish before Labor Day weekend, and the location would open as the 2019-2020 school year began. After the opening was delayed multiple times, students were excited to return from winter break to a new neighbor.
“At first, I told myself I wouldn’t give in to going—I love Hot Mama’s and I think they have the best pizza,” says Melia M. ‘20. “But when I got too lazy to walk to Hot Mama’s, I finally decided to go.” Hot Mama’s has been a staple off-campus lunch spot for many NWS students, serving relatively inexpensive New York style pizza by the slice, only a few blocks from school. While Hot Mama’s is irreplaceable, Pagliacci definitely wins a couple points for convenience. “I like how big the restaurant is and how nice all of the employees are,” Melia adds.
The building on Pike and Summit was owned by the company prior to its opening, operating as its call center and corporate office, and continues to serve these purposes after the opening of the new restaurant.
With this new location being so close to the Haus, the administration has been clear that although it takes only 20 seconds to travel from the Crawford St. exit of school to the entrance of Pagliacci, the restaurant is technically off campus. Thus, a formal sign-out is still required from high schoolers wanting to eat out for lunch; for those in middle school, a slice after school will have to do, since eating lunch off campus is not an option.
One of Seattle’s most popular restaurant chains, Pagliacci now has fifteen locations throughout the city, seven on the Eastside, and three individual locations on the University of Washington campus. If you find yourself craving something warm and comforting during these dreary winter months, head next door and grab a slice—Melia recommends the Hawaiian or the Chicken Primo. In the meantime, let’s not forget about the delicious lunches being cooked by the hardworking and talented staff at our own NWS kitchen—make sure to show them some love and appreciation too. Happy eating!
