edible notables
PEOPLE’S PIZZA
Pie-Face offers tasty downtown dining.
WRITTEN BY AMY HARRIS
PHOTOS BY CANDICE NYANDO
A few years ago, Ryan Goldhammer was in downtown Reno and he was famished. It was late, past the closing time of most fine dining establishments. He considered his food options: Awful Awful, China Diner, and Jack in the Box. Why didn’t Reno have a place to get gourmet pizza slices at all hours?
| Trevor Leppek and Ryan Goldhammer, owners of Pie-Face Pizza Co., with the backyard chicken pizza |
At about the same time Goldhammer longed for some decent, late-night, downtown grub, his college friend Trevor Leppek had ideas about opening a music venue and bar downtown. Goldhammer and Leppek decided to join forces and fulfill a need they believed Reno was missing. In 2010 they opened Pie-Face Pizza Co., a place where every type of demographic gathers for the same reason: to enjoy great pizza.
But, while Pie-Face meets the need for gourmet pizza at all hours downtown, it also serves as a music venue, bar, and community hub.
“You might walk in during dinner and see a table of punks next to a little old lady next to a family of five,” Goldhammer says. “We love seeing that.”
Pie-Face doesn’t alienate any demographic, Leppek says. The owners just focus on making high-quality pizza.
And the establishment isn’t just open for late-night customers. It caters to a busy lunch and early dinner crowd. And the pizza tastes just as good before a few Great Basin Ickys as after. Pie-Face doesn’t exist just to fill the stomachs of inebriated college students, though it has filled many. It exists to serve some of Reno’s best pizza.
To this end, Leppek and Goldhammer believe in buying fresh, local ingredients. They also carry local wine and beer. They make everything they can from scratch, including the dough, sauce, caramelized onions, sun-dried tomatoes, ranch dressing, and sausage. They cut their cured meats in house and cook their specialty, thin-crust pies New York style in gas brick ovens.
“We are a far step from frozen, plastic bag-ingredient pizza shops,” Goldhammer says. “Our attention is in the small details.”
Pie-Face holds events every week, from Pictionary, bingo, live DJ music, and art openings to what Leppek and Goldhammer call a “super pizza time dance party” on Friday nights.
“We like doing events and playing games and being involved in everything in the community,” Leppek says. “We’re at Earth Day and the Balloon Races, among other events.”
So next time you’re hungry downtown late at night, early in the morning, in the middle of the day, or around dinnertime, stop by and grab a slice of award-winning pizza or wings. Try the Pie-P-A or Pie-Face Pilsner, the beer Knee Deep Brewing creates specifically for Pie-Face, and enjoy a game of bingo.
For details, visit www.Piefacepizza.co or find the restaurant on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/piefacepizzaco).
Amy Harris is a writer and recent UNR graduate. She’s visited Pie-Face during dinner and early morning hours and has enjoyed every slice. She especially likes The Resa Special, with sun-dried tomatoes, roasted garlic, jalapeños, red onions, pine nuts, spinach, and goat cheese.
Resources
Need Gluten-Free Pizza?
Pie-Face has it, along with several other local spots.
Besides Pie-Face, you can find gluten-free pizza at Z Pizza in Reno, Campo restaurant in Reno, Whole Foods Market in Reno, Haven on Earth in Reno, Great Basin Community Food Co-op in Reno, MJ’s Pizzeria in Reno, Extreme Pizza in Reno, and BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse in Reno, as well as New Moon Natural Foods in Tahoe City and Truckee.
