Square Pie Guys opens an outpost across the bay
The corners of Square Pie Guys’ prized Detroitstyle pizzas — all shatteringly crispy edges melded with caramelized cheddar — are officially available in the East Bay.
The explosively popular San Francisco restaurant opened Monday in Old Oakland, its contemporary blueandwhite color scheme mixing with the tile and exposed brick of a historic building. The basic menu — rectangular pizzas, hearty salads, an Italianinspired hot chicken sandwich — is the same as in San Francisco, but this location has a liquor license and an outdoor patio.
That said, the safetyminded restaurant is sticking with takeout and delivery for now. Eventually, the restaurant plans to debut an outdoor setup, and much further down the line, the space will have room for indoor dining as well.
As with the original location, the menu carries staple toppings like pepperoni cups, Italian sausage and mushrooms in various combinations, plus rotating seasonal specials. One of the current specials is a puttanescainspired pie with beet cream, and there’s also a vegan variation. But special to the East Bay will be a collaboration with MudLab, a zerowaste cafe just north of Lake Merritt, where Square Pie Guys will drop off takeandbake pizzas in reusable packaging.
Togo batch cocktails are also new. They include some twists on classics, such as an old fashioned with Mike’s Hot Honey — a key ingredient on the sausage pie — and a margarita with prickly pear and a Sichuan spice mix for the rim.
Coming to the East Bay was a logical next step for Square Pie Guys, with its owners already living there, as well as fans who used to work in San Francisco prepandemic.
“I know we have a lot of followers who drive across the bridge to pick up a pizza,” said general manager Louise Tang.
The restaurant is also planning a payitforward program, which might launch in the next couple of months. Coowners Danny Stoller and Marc Schechter said they were inspired by Oakland’s Monster Pho, which was giving out hundreds of bowls of noodle soup for free to anyone who asked. The Vietnamese restaurant had to stop because it wasn’t sustainable, so Square Pie Guy is working with accountants to find a way to ask customers to donate a little extra when they buy a meal, which could then go toward a free pie for someone in need.
“That really aligns with our values to try to do well but make sure others do well with you,” Stoller said.