Growing Detroit-Style Pizza Pop-Up Finds Permanent Home in SF

Growing pop-up powerhouse Square Pie Guys has found a permanent home for its sought-after Detroit-style creations. They’re moving into a space at 1077 Mission Street, a roughly 48-seat location where Square Pie Guys hopes to open with dine-in and delivery service by July.

Duo Marc Schechter and Danny Stoller have been making their pan pies for about a year, mostly appearing at Vinyl Cafe on Divisadero (where they’ll continue to operate until the new location opens). The team’s laser focus is on Detroit-style pies, a pizza developed at Motor City spots like Buddy’s. Square Pie Guys makes their version in 8-by-10 inch rectangular pans, with cheese forming a crispy crust around the edges.

“Everybody in the pizza world is going crazy for square,” Schechter told Eater SF in January, pointing to the success of brands like New York’s Emmy Squared. Locally, the style has gained a following at places like Cellarmaker House of Pizza and Pizza Squared.

Schechter cut his teeth at round, Neapolitan-style pizzerias including Pizzeria Delfina and Pizzahacker (another Vinyl pizza pop-up turned brick-and-mortar). He’s built a fanbase for his work under the (hilarious) personal Instagram account @pizzaman_420. But the square pies he began making with his now restaurant partner Danny Stoller were his biggest hit.

Grace Sager

At Vinyl, where Square Pie guys often sells out, options include a pepperoni pie (a cheddar cheese edge, shredded mozzarella, exactly 48 pieces of Pavone cupping pepperoni, and Chris Bianco’s Tomato sauce) and a “mean green sausage machine” (mozzarella, ricotta cream sauce, fennel sausage, charred broccoli, garlic red pepper flakes, and a cheddar cheese edge with a drizzle of Mike’s Hot Honey on top).

“For as big and scary [as the square pie] looks, it’s pretty approachable,” says Stoller, “even on a Tuesday night after yoga class.”

At the new 1077 Mission Street location, Square Pie Guys will offer about 10 pizza varieties, and add menu items like a burger, salads, and sandwiches with bread made from their dough. Beer and wine will be available for dine-in customers, and Square Pie Guys will offer delivery and catering, too.

To nab the space, Schechter and Stoller struck a deal with Adam Mesnick, the owner of sandwich staple Deli Board, to take over the lease on his former spinoff space, the Board (closed in February). The location is mostly turnkey: Square Pie Guys will add new paint, neon signage, and a three-deck, conveyor belt pizza oven, but not much else.

For now, Schechter and Stoller both have day jobs in business development, and hope to use their experience to succeed in the difficult Bay Area restaurant market. Stoller is a developer at a hospitality firm, and Schechter sells software to small businesses including restaurants.

“We want to be between your Delfina and your Mountain Mike’s,” Schechter suggests. “We wanna be able to have that similar level of speed and convenience and ease of ordering with something that’s really delicious.”