By Nora Wesson
Upper West Siders only have a few more days to wait for Lucia Pizza, as the popular brand puts the finishing touches on its new restaurant near Lincoln Center.
The pizzeria’s co-owner Dylan Schwartz described the incoming pizza shop to West Side Rag as “more than just a place to eat.”
Signage has been up for more than a month, heralding the arrival of the city’s fifth Lucia outpost at 159 Columbus Avenue between West 67th and 68th streets.
So, when will the new Upper West Side pizzeria open?
Monday, October 5, according to Schwartz, who also co-owns the popular Upper East Side outpost of Lucia.
“Even though there’s no seats, I still want it to be a place that people think of to come and have a slice and a little respite from their day,” Schwartz, 45, explained of the Upper West Side storefront’s smaller space, which does not allow for tables and chairs, though three standings bars will accommodate around 12 customers.
“A little escape from the daily grind,” he added.
While Lucia’s Upper West Side location might be on the smaller side, Lucia regulars will recognize its signature slices, crafted from slow-fermented dough, and finished with fresh basil, shavings of Pecorino Romano cheese, and olive oil imported from Sicily. The slices do not feel heavy or dense, reflective of the brand’s name, which means “light” in Italian.
Lucia might not be open yet on the Upper West Side, but Schwartz shared photos with WSR of the inside of the shop.
Glass display cases sit atop dark green counters, with space for customers to stand on grey terrazzo-tiled floors.
Metal shelves soon to be lined with pizza boxes hang above the register, and in front of an open preparation area, allowing visitors to see their orders being made, while a larger kitchen is also visible toward the back of the shop.
Pale yellow walls give way to narrow silver metal eating bars along two walls and the large window.
Outside, the restaurant’s burgundy awning is already up, just under the hand-painted sign reading “Lucia Pizza of the Upper West Side” in red and yellow paint against a cream-colored background, with dark green trim.
“It creates something unique, and I don’t want to say homey, but it separates us from your choices for lunch or dinner that are kind of more corporate,” Schwartz said.
The new slice shop’s storefront once belonged to a Starbucks. The co-owner also noted that the same artist designed and painted the signage for all of the brand’s shops.
“[Lucia’s is something truly born from the city, and also a throwback to another era [when] hand-painted signs were more prevalent,” he added. “We like to think that we try to maintain that same integrity that those businesses from yesteryear, that were around for 50-plus years or whatever, had.”
He and the team hope that Lucia will one day become one of those longstanding neighborhood fixtures. Outside the Upper West Side, pizza lovers can find the pizzeria in SoHo, Gramercy, Sheepshead Bay, and on the Upper East Side.
The new shop will open at 11 a.m. on Monday, with its full menu of slices available. Customers looking for delivery will have to call directly for the first week, but service through third-parties like Seamless and UberEats will begin after that. The restaurant does not deliver individual slices, only pies, though slices can be added on to pie orders.
“I think that [it’s] really important to have – what’s the word – a symbiotic relationship between the customer base and the store because then it becomes more than just a place to eat; it becomes a social hub too,” Schwartz said, detailing his goal of developing relationships with regulars, learning their names, and weaving Lucia Pizza into the fabric of the community.
“Even though the store will be crazy sometimes when it’s busy, I want [customers] to feel like they’re getting a little bit of a reprieve from whatever they got going on in life,” Schwartz explained. “To be able to indulge in some pizza, and a welcoming environment.”
Lucia Pizza will serve up slices Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., opening an hour later on Sundays.
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I wish them well, but c’mon… ““Even though there’s no seats, I still want it to be a place that people think of to come and have a slice and a little respite from their day,” Schwartz, 45, explained of the Upper West Side storefront’s smaller space, which does not allow for tables and chairs, though three standings bars will accommodate around 12 customers.”
No thanks, I’d like to sit down if I’m gonna have “a little respite from my day”…. 🙂
Reprieve from the hectic life on the UWS is an oxymoron. I am still looking for it.