Metro Pizza Brings Its Awesomeness to the Northwest

Grid View

• The exterior of the new Metro Pizza.
• The view from Durango.
• The space will have room for outdoor dining.
• The entrance to the bakery.
• The view from Sky Pointe.
• The main dining room.
• The main dining room looking out at the pizza ovens.
• Another view of the dining room.
• The gelato and carryout area.
• The space for the pizza ovens.
• The space for the pizza ovens.
• The entrance to the bakery.
• The ceiling of the bakery.
• A view into the dining room.
• A serpentine sharing table will reside here.
• The bakery.

The northwest valley is about to get a taste of all that’s fabulous from Metro Pizza. The new location right off the 215 and 95 is under construction and getting set for a June opening.

Co-owner John Arena gave Eater Vegas a tour of the new 11,500-square-foot digs that will look identical to the Green Valley outpost. To the rear sits the bakery, a new feature that will provide artisanal breads from a hearth oven from Italy for all six Metro Pizza outlets. Here, Chris Hanmer, who won Season 2 of Top Chef Just Desserts and owns the School of Pastry Design, is creating the dessert menu as well as offering baking classes.

“My dad was a bread baker in Little Italy,” Arena says. “Bread bakers would traditionally transition into pizza makers. There was more money in that.”

A serpentine community table and reclaimed woods, brick walls, a wood floor and sofas will deck out the interior of the bakery.

In the front, the massive dining room and an area for take out and gelato. Arena plans to decorate the walls with art from local artists, making the restaurant to true center for the community to gather and do more than just eat pizza. Book readings for kids in the afternoons, pop up dinners from chefs and more are just some of the items on the agenda.

Arena says the location also helped him fulfill a promise to long-time employees. Five who have been with the company for more than 15 years will own a piece of the $5.5 million location.

An end of June opening is planned with the bakery opening two weeks later. When the Green Valley location opened, it averaged a pizza out of the oven every 40 seconds from open to close. Expect the same here.
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