In January 2019 (just 4 months into their pop-up at Vinyl Coffee & Wine Bar), Square Pie Guys duo Marc Schechter and Danny Stoller told the SF Chronicle that they were looking at spaces in the East Bay to open their restaurant. Fast forward to today, and the two have achieved their dream of opening their restaurant, just in San Francisco. To be exact, they’re in SoMa at 1077 Mission St.—where the sandwich shop the Board by Adam Mesnick used to live.
Their first brick-and-mortar location is serving up the Detroit-style pizza (DSP) that fans know and love. For anyone who doesn’t have a clue what this style means, the basics are (according to Eater) “a rectangular shape, light, airy dough, and savory, browned cheese perimeter.” Tony Gemignani started serving it at Tony’s Slice House back in 2011, but the style started appearing more frequently in the last few years in the Bay Area, popping up with businesses like Pizza Squared and Cellarmaker House of Pizza.
Square Pie Guys is the first restaurant both Stoller and Schechter have ever opened. The latter does not have any formal training, but the man does love his pizzas (take a peek at his Instagram account at @pizzaman_420 for example). After a stint in sales and marketing, he cut his teeth at Pizzahacker in July 2017, and he went on to work at other pizza institutions like Casey’s and Pizzeria Delfina. Together, they have perfected their unique pizza pie flavors at their Vinyl Coffee pop-up, seeing relatively positive success since starting in September 2018.
With events selling out and pizzas flying off the press at their pop-ups, the duo credit their success to their community and loyal fans. “There really is no Square Pie Guys without our amazing community,” Schechter says, “Without all the amazing people who have supported us, collaborated with us, posted about us, and shared the news of our pop-ups, we wouldn’t be here.”
And they looked to their community when they opened the new space, creating a Kickstarter to raise capital to help pay for things like equipment (things they acquired with a down payment but still have to pay off). The Kickstarter was also a way for them to connect with people who love their pizza, and they offered rewards for people to enjoy at the restaurant, like seats at their pre-launch party, exclusive access to their brunch menu and the chance to design and name their own pizza.
