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Square Pie Guys is tossing its final pie in Palo Alto. The Detroit-style pizzeria is permanently closing its Cal Ave location after service on Friday – just one year after it made its debut.
“I know it was short, but we really did give it our all,” founder Marc Schechter said.
Known for pies with thick, crunchy and chewy crusts with caramelized cheese edges, Square Pie Guys continues to operate its locations in San Francisco, Oakland, Campbell and Walnut Creek. While catering business at the Palo Alto location was going well, Schechter said, its dinnertime and weekend business were extremely slow.
“Our Saturdays and Sundays were slower than our Tuesdays and Wednesdays,” he said of the Palo Alto restaurant, noting that all four of his other locations have dinner and weekend rushes.
If he had to do it all over again, he said he’d select a different location in the Palo Alto area. While there were a variety of factors, Schechter said, he thinks Cal Ave being a car-free street played a part in Square Pie Guy’s short-lived tenure in Palo Alto.
“I feel like all the other locations, they have really good frontage on the street,” he said. “And if you heard about us online or saw us in your DoorDash app … being able to drive by and be like, ‘Oh, that’s that place I heard about’ … I think it really does play a big part.”
He also noted that restaurants that succeed on Cal Ave either are grab-and-go concepts in small footprint shops or full-service restaurants – Square Pie Guys straddled that line. In August, Schechter hosted a Bar Pie Guys pop-up, offering a full-service experience at the Palo Alto location. While the pop-up “was really successful,” he said, transitioning the business to a full-service restaurant would be too ambitious of an endeavor.
Schechter hopes to eventually open a Square Pie Guys along the Peninsula, but he’s not actively searching. Instead, he’s focused on expanding to the North Bay, although he wouldn’t divulge an address or opening timeline. He’s also working to update the menu across all locations and keep “the current restaurants fresh and exciting,” he said.
Formerly working in software sales, Schechter founded Square Pie Guys as a San Francisco pop-up in 2018. A year later, he opened his first brick and mortar in San Francisco.
“A big thank you to everybody who came and supported us over the last year,” he said. “Keep supporting local businesses.”
Square Pie Guys, 369 California Ave., Palo Alto; 650-285-2002, Instagram: @squarepieguys. Open Thursday and Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
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