Pagliacci comes to town

Pizza parlor to open Thursday

First the news for our short-attention-span readers:  we're told there will be free pizza slices (from 11 am until 4 pm) once Pagliacci gets the doors open tomorrow at its new Madison Valley location (3015 E. Madison St.).

After over three months of construction (and eleven years of planning), Pagliacci Pizza is returning to the very site where it once operated a commissary kitchen.  But there's never been a Pagliacci restaurant in the neighborhood (the closest Pagliacci is on North Capitol Hill), so this foray into Madison Valley represents a whole new opportunity for Pagliacci to introduce its particular style of pizza and service to a area of town that already has several pizza alternatives.

We got a preview of Pagliacci's plans for the new location (the company's 24th) from co-owner Matt Galvin earlier this week.  First of all, the pizza: "It's always been about hand-tossing, baking on bricks, and using local, fresh ingredients," he told us. "That's the way it's been since the very beginning of Pagliacci and we're not going to be changing it." It's also about including some seasonal pizzas in the lineup, as the opportunity presents itself, he added. "Today it's the Mushroom Prima, featuring lobster mushrooms."  [An aside here to note that 425 Magazine's November issue reports that Pagliacci Pizza, known for its "high-end, thin-crust, artisan pizzas," has been chosen one of the best in America by Bon Appetit.]

Now about the site: The just-being-completed-today building is Pagliacci's first LEED-certified structure, "green from the ground up," according to the press release.  Says Galvin, "Our customers and employees know that we're committed to being an environmentally focused business, and our newest location will allow us to put all these practices into place under one roof."

There's a lot of wood in the building design, as well as efficient lighting and plumbing fixtures, and strong use of natural lighting.  Going further, this Pagliacci location will utilize composting and FSC-certified pizza boxes, among other green measures.

The new building has been completed almost on time (the opening has only been delayed by a day or two).  It turns out the site needed more shoring up than originally assumed. There was also a fair amount of environmental clean-up that occurred during site restoration.

Among the features of the new restaurant is a children's area (with books and a chalkboard) near the "toss-table" (so that kids can get an up-close-and-personal view of the handicraft involved in pizza tossing).  There is seating for about 30 people, and there will be one of those new Coke machines where patrons can formulate their own concoction.

Pagliacci's delivery area for this location will include, in addition to Madison Park and Madison Valley, Madrona, Leschi (to south of I-90), the Central District, and part of Capitol Hill and First Hill (south of Madison St.).

Galvin says he's excited about the new location and Pagliacci's ability to deliver great pizzas to a whole new crowd of pizza lovers.  "In a way, this grand opening actually represents a homecoming for us."

Welcome back to the 'hood.

Pagliacci site plan revealed

New pizzeria to open by early November

As everyone has probably noticed, construction got underway several weeks ago at what most recently was the site of Spotless Cleaners (3015 E. Madison St.).  As we reported in April, Pagliaccci Pizza will soon be coming to this site on Madison Park's doorstep---and after hearing the news, several readers asked us to get the details.

To do that we contacted Pagliacci co-owner Matt Galvin, who provided us with this graphic showing what the site will look like upon completion in the fall. The new building will have approximately 35 seats, but on-site parking will necessarily be limited, says Galvin.  But of course there's always the convenience of home delivery.

Galvin says that this is really a return to Madison Valley rather than an entirely new venture for the pizza chain. The previous building had once housed Pagliacci's "commissary" operation (a kitchen baking for the benefit of Pagliacci restaurants and delivery locations).  "This is an exciting opportunity for us," says Galvin, "and it's long overdue.  We've been working on this for ten years---but we're in the patient mode."

Galvin describes Pagliacci's pizza as "old school": hand tossed, brick-baked, thin crust, and featuring local ingredients wherever possible. He didn't mention (though we do) that Pagliacci Pizza was just voted "Best Pizza" in the Seattle Weekly readers' poll.

This will be Pagliacci's 23rd location, including delivery-only sites.  Many of us remember that this location was once a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant.  According to Galvin, the site was originally the depot for the trolly that once ran between downtown and Madison Park. In the early days, a trestle---which carried the trolly---existed between Madison Valley and the intersection of what is now Lake Washington Boulevard.  Later the site became a gas station; and following the exit of Kentucky Fried Chicken it was subsequently a commissary for both Pagliacci and, later, Pasta & Company.  

It's an important and historic site, says Galvin, "and the location's a good fit for us. We're excited about the move and about getting the site cleaned up."  Construction could be completed as early as October, he said, but may slip into November.

[Photo and graphic courtesy of Pagliacci Pizza.]

New York Cupcakes: outta here

Another multi-location food purveyor has closed its Madison Valley store, Bellevue-based New York Cupcakes' ending its foray into Seattle after only eleven months on this side of the water. NYC's last day was July 31, according to Seattle Met's Nosh Pitt blog.  New York Cupcakes thus follows the lead of Woodinville-based Bill the Butcher, which closed its Madison Valley operation earlier in the month.

We were not entirely surprised by the exit of New York Cupcakes, which had been struggling to find an audience since its opening in September.  Owner Lisa Waxman Johnson admitted to us last year that the store was not performing up to her expectations. In explanation of the closing, NYC posted this comment on its Facebook page: "Madison Valley is a great neighborhood but not the one for us (parking is super tough!)."  Bill the Butcher, in commenting on our story about the closure of its Madison Valley store, said much the same thing about its departure: "One of the many things we have learned in our first three years is the importance of parking---something our Madison Shop has always struggled with since it's opening."

It's not true, however, that no multi-location operation can make a go of it in Madison Valley.  Essential Baking is a good case in point.  And on the horizon, of course, is the new Pagliacci Pizza store which will soon be opening in the former location of Spotless Cleaners.  We expect to be sharing details on that later this week.

[New York Cupcakes was located at 2711 E. Madison St. Pagliacci Pizza will be located at 3015 E. Madison St.]

Another pizza option! Just what we needed

Pagliacci Pizza to usurp Spotless Cleaners site

The Central District News, a neighboring blog, reported last week that Pagliacci Pizza will be invading Madison Valley later this year with a new store on Madison, just barely outside of Madison Park.

Pagliacci will be building a new, larger and LEED-certified building to replace the existing Spotless Cleaners structure at 3015 E. Madison St., according to the report. No date is given for anticipated completion.  Those with long memories may recall that prior to Spotless Cleaners, this was once the site of another fast-food restaurant: Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Pagliacci was founded in 1979, with its first store in the University District.  There are currently six pizzerias in the chain, plus 16 "delivery kitchens" in various locations in Seattle, the Eastside, and to the North.  This location will apparently be a full-service pizzeria which will deliver "all over the CD and Capitol Hill, even going as far south as Leschi."  Presumably Madison Park would also qualify.

Of course Madison Park itself is not without numerous existing pizza options (as we've pointed out before), but Pagliacci will arrive on the scene with a solid reputation, and its pizzas have won numerous awards.  So, one more pizza choice for the 'hood!

Pagliacci, by the way, should not be confused with Piecora's, which has a location on E. Madison St. in the Pike/Pine neighborhood.

[Photo of meatball pizza courtesy of Pagliacci Pizza's blog. Of course we are kindly using the term "usurp" in the sense of a legitimate, not illegitimate, takeover of the site.]