Photo by @kllymills
We heard from a couple of readers yesterday about Grinders Pizzeria, a new restaurant that is getting ready to open at 448 Balboa Street near the corner of 6th Avenue (between Melisa’s Chinese and Cinderella Bakery).
According to their website, Grinders will offer “Chicago Deep Dish and California Thin Crust pizzas in a refined format. Our Chicago Deep Dish pizzas feature our signature carmelized-cheese crust that heightens the flavor profile and crispness of the crust. The California Thin Crust pizzas are where our name derives from. We have deconstructed popular grinder sandwiches and cleverly re-located their ingredients onto a pizza crust.”
Grinders will provide online ordering and their delivery area will include the entire Richmond District.
The people behind Grinders are husband and wife team Joe Irick and Amanda Petrowski. Joe is the former pizza critic for the Chicago Tribune, and the two are aiming to “change the way you think about pizza in SF!” They just got married in April after meeting at a convention in 2008 (you too can stalk their wedding website).
In addition to pizza, the menu offers side salads, buffalo wings, mac and cheese, and a skillet cookie: one massive chocolate chip cookie baked to order.
Grinders’ space still has brown paper on the windows and they tell us they’re in their final inspection so they could be opening within the next couple of weeks. When they do, they’ll be open 7 days a week. But don’t rush over there just yet!
Welcome to the neighborhood, Grinders! Let’s hope this is the beginning of an uptick in occupancies for the Inner Balboa commercial district.
Sarah B.
Eager to try this, and thrilled to see a vacant storefront be filled.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE offer vegan options! Even just a simple plain vegan cheese pizza would suffice. We are seriously lacking in this neighborhood. Georgio’s is great and usually what I end up ordering since no one else offers Daiya cheese.
Fantastic! Good luck to Joe and Amanda. Thanks so much for bringing some activity to that Balboa corridor, which is so sadly empty. I’ve heard various rumors of the landlord that owns that stretch of empty storefronts on the south side of Balboa there: hope that Joe and Amanda aren’t stuck working with her!
Can’t wait to try the deep dish!
I’m going to gain so much weight….
alright guys! I’m from Southside Chicago and have been wanting more Chicago eats out here in the bay area. Glad to hear about this place and the location is nearby too. I’ll be sure to visit and bring my friends too.
Great News! I’m really hoping for a renaissance along that part of Balboa. The nearby, similar corridors (Irving, Clement) do well so one would think Balboa could thrive. I’ll be sure to patronize this restaurant.
Good luck, love Chicago-style pizza so am anxious to try!
went to the website and saw that there’s a number posted. I called to ask when’s opening day. The person who answered said its a wrong number. Can anyone tell me when’s the grand opening? So excited!
Hey Andy I’m with you though it doesn’t like look they’ll be big on vegan options; as you mention Georgio’s does a fantastic job re. vegan pizza so I guess we don’t have to press the Chicagoans too much. And funny, as a long time resident of the hood (used to live much closer to 6th and Balboa at 5th and Cabrillo) I remember, when I was just a vegetarian and still ate cheese, there was a short lived Chicago style place called Lo Naturo Italiano (I think I’ve got that right) on 5th and Balboa that you used to make great deep dish, Chicago style, pizzas – maybe there’s some mysterious Balboa-Chicago connection…
Oh, and forgot re. my previous message – as vegans maybe we should be satisfied with (and excited about) the increased options we ‘re going to have re. Sarah B.’s new place.
I hope this doesn’t become the new hipster joint in my neighborhood (like Cindys – always a line out the door now) but I am really excited to finally be seeing some of these vacant store fronts fill up. If only they could bring in a good coffee shop and a mexican place across the street where the two units have been vacant FOREVER that would be awesome.
Cool!
This sounds great! Now we need a quality Mexican Restaurant and frozen yogurt in the Richmond- anyone?!
vegans dont eat cheese, Addy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veganism
donna, Andy means vegan “cheese”, e.g. the Daiya brand vegan cheese that they use at Giorgio’s to make the vegan pizzas (it’s gotten better over the years and I’ve seen it even fool the occasional omnivore, though it obviously wouldn’t fool a true cheese lover).
Congrats Joe & Amanda!! Well when you guys come back to the Paign you will have to make some on your amazing dishes. So happy for the the both of you.
They appear to be open as of Friday, October 31st, i checked during lunch hoping they were but their hours don’t start until 5.
Great news. Our area needs new businesses. We are excited to stop by. Wonder if they will have pizza by the slice? Sometimes that is just the right size.
Looking forward to trying another addition to the neighborhood!
@ Addy- there’s a great pizza place in the area that does have vegan options, it’s called Firehouse Pizza and it’s sooo good!
“In addition to pizza, the menu offers side salads, buffalo wings, mac and cheese, and a skillet cookie: one massive chocolate chip cookie baked to order.”
Are their role models the corporate insects (founders) of Papa John’s?
Hi Karl & Nicole – I used to get Firehouse Pizza alot (since I live SUPER close to it but the dough is not vegan unfortunately – trust me, I’m bummed!)
I wish businesses understood how loyal vegans are once they find a spot that has options for them! I would send ALL my friends there, and they would do the same.