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Pure Pizza is now open in Plaza Midwood, making Central Avenue arguably the pizza-heaviest street in town with four pizza joints located within the same 0.8-mile stretch. One of the servers told me last night they plan to get Pizza Midwood shirts, a lighthearted move that I think will solidify their place among the neighborhood pizza ranks.
Plaza Midwood is the second location for owner Julie Ghazi whose flagship restaurant opened in 7th Street Public Market in 2012. Pure Pizza has been featured everywhere from Buzzfeed to the New York Times and is consistently named one of the best pizza places in Charlotte.
Despite the success, Ghazi said opening the Plaza Midwood location gave her more anxiety than her recent hang gliding excursion. “I don’t know what’s scarier,” she laughed, “running out of money and not opening or actually opening.”
Following a string of delays, they successfully opened Tuesday night to a crowd of about a hundred people.
It’s a laid back joint with paper plates so if you’re expecting table service you’re in the wrong place.
True to the original market location’s layout, customers order and pay at the counter, grab a number and find a table. Regular, gluten-free and vegetarian/vegan menus are available out front so grab one before you head in.
We got a large cheese pizza and a Greek salad that tasted like it was picked from the backyard. Though they missed the planting season this year, Ghazi does have plans to grow her own produce on site in raised beds. This particular salad tasted fresh because the greens were delivered by Windcrest Farm just six hours earlier.
One large pizza was too much for two people so we asked for a box but were given foil instead because of the restaurant’s sustainability standards. They compost and recycle everything, which is cool with me. I hate giant pizza boxes anyway because they take up my entire refrigerator.
One of the coolest things about Pure Pizza Plaza Midwood is a killer mural painted by local artist Matt Hooker that dominates the dining room.
From decor to food sourcing, Pure Pizza is paying attention to detail and playing local. I think they’ll be an excellent addition to Plaza Midwood. After all, you can never have too much pizza.
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