One of Seattle’s favorite pizzerias announced on Instagram Tuesday it will be closing for good. Blotto, which had just been highlighted by the New York Times as one of the 25 best restaurants in Seattle, will cease operations on Saturday, Dec. 30.
The pizzeria invited the local community in for a final slice, adding that it will only be selling slices all week long in order to “get pizza in as many of y’all’s faces as possible.”
The reason for the restaurant’s closure? Blotto wrote that the building it occupies was being sold and ownership was “excited for a new chapter outside of the restaurant.”
Related: He Quit His Day Job To Open a Pizzeria. But Will It Survive?
According to the Seattle Times, Blotto began as a pop-up in 2020, founded by co-owners Jordan Koplowitz and Cal Hoffman. Due to popular demand, the duo opened up a brick and mortar location on the corner of 12th Avenue and East Denny Way in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle in 2021. Lines snaking around the block quickly followed: the place was a hit.
The pizzeria served 14” New York-style pies, typically sold as whole pizzas only rather than slices. The Times said the pizza had “distinctively chewy puffy edges with thin but pliable crackly bottom and a golden-wheaty bite. The pie has always been a big hit, especially with baking geeks and pizza aficionados.”
It’s disappointing, then, for folks in Seattle to have to say goodbye to the pizzeria. One fan on Instagram wrote, “There goes the only good pizza in Seattle.” (PMQ would suggest the commenter venture out a bit more, but to each their own). Another commenter added: “We’re crushed but also we get it and we’re so proud of you guys. What a run. Best pizza, always a line, incredible.”
Koplowitz and Hoffman said they were going to enjoy some time to relax when 2024 begins prior to reassessing what their next moves will be. They told the Times they aren’t interested in opening up another Blotto, but didn’t rule out potential future pop-ups.
“We just want to take some time and do some traveling and see where our hearts land,” Koplowitz said.
