By Lenny Rago and Brian Hernandez | Photos courtesy of Silver Beach Pizza

PMQ and the U.S. Pizza Team are always excited to explore the unique stories behind our nation’s most successful pizzerias, especially when we have the chance to hear a fellow USPT member’s opinion on them. In this installment, we catch up with USPT member Lenny Rago, co-owner of Panino’s Pizzeria in Evanston, Illinois, as he travels to Michigan to sit down with Jay Costas, co-owner of Silver Beach Pizza in St. Joseph, Michigan. Located inside a historic train station, Silver Beach Pizza offers not only delicious pies but also an unforgettable dining experience, complete with stunning views and the excitement of passing trains, plus frozen drinks served in 18-ounce schooner glasses.

Lenny, a seasoned pizza pro, talked shop with Jay about his journey into the pizza industry, the challenges and rewards of running a restaurant in a historic building, and how a vacation to Hawaii sparked the creation of one of Michigan’s favorite pizzerias.

Lenny RagoJay, thanks for having me. I’ve heard so many great things about Silver Beach Pizza. Let’s jump right into it—how did you get into pizza?

Jay Costas: It’s actually kind of a funny story. Back in 2003 or 2004, my friend and I were on vacation in Hawaii with our wives. He’s a lawyer, and I was running carwashes. We’ve been friends since seventh grade but had never once talked about going into business together, let alone opening a restaurant. One afternoon, we stopped to grab a bite, and they served our beer in these awesome schooner glasses, kept ice-cold in a chest freezer. We loved it and started joking about opening a place to serve beer in those glasses. It wasn’t until we visited Mellow Mushroom in Asheville, North Carolina, that we decided our place had to serve pizza. Mellow Mushroom was cool, unlike most pizza joints we’d seen, and that’s when the vision for Silver Beach Pizza began.

RagoSo, when did Silver Beach Pizza officially open its doors?

Costas: We opened in August 2005, and it’s been a wild ride ever since.

RagoWas it always going to be a pizza place, or did the concept evolve when you found the location in the train station?

Costas: The plan was always pizza after seeing Mellow Mushroom. We just had to find the right spot. We started looking for any building in St. Joseph and lucked out when we discovered the train station lease might be available. People thought we were crazy, though. The station hadn’t had a successful restaurant tenant in three years, and the three that had been there before us all went out of business. It’s still an active Amtrak station, with two trains passing by each day and a few freight trains. The tracks are just 14 feet from our patio, which adds such a cool atmosphere, especially for the kids who love watching the trains go by.

RagoIs the building recognized as a national historic landmark?

Costas: No, it’s not a national monument, but it’s definitely historic—around 120 years old. In one of our remodels, the city let us create a new waiting room for Amtrak passengers with a beautiful view of the lake.

RagoHow did the permitting process go with such an old building?

Costas: Surprisingly, there were no major nightmares with permits. Over the years, we’ve put about $1.5 million into the building, which we rent, and that includes some pretty complex buildouts like the Upper Deck we added in 2017. But the city was great to work with, and everything came together nicely.

RagoSpeaking of the location, was carryout always a major focus due to the proximity to the beach?

Costas: Not really. Our focus has always been on dine-in service—about 75% of our business is dine-in. We built the carryout kitchen in 2015 because the original kitchen just couldn’t keep up with demand. We did try delivery in the beginning but quickly realized it wasn’t logistically feasible. So, carryout grew more out of necessity than anything else.

RagoWhat were some of the challenges of getting the building ready to function as a pizzeria?

Costas: The main challenge was the kitchen. We had to completely redo it to handle pizza production. Our first year, we only had indoor dining because the patio wasn’t enclosed yet. By the second year, we enclosed the patio with glass garage doors so we could use it year-round. Then, in 2017, we added the Upper Deck, which gave us more seating, another bar, and more restrooms.

RagoLet’s talk about those schooners. How important are they to your concept, and how do you manage to keep them frozen in such a unique layout?

Costas: The schooners are essential—they’re our identity. But yeah, as we got busier, keeping enough schooners frozen became a challenge. We eventually invested around $20,000 in a blast freezer. When we added the Upper Deck, we installed another reach-in freezer specifically for schooners, and each bar has its own chest freezer. But it all ties back to that moment in Hawaii—without that stop, Silver Beach Pizza wouldn’t exist.

RagoHow has business been, being so close to a tourist-heavy beach? Is it seasonal, or do you have a strong local base too?

Costas: The tourist season is definitely busy, but we’ve built a solid local customer base as well. Many businesses before us only opened during the tourist season, but we’ve stayed open year-round from the beginning. Locals keep us going in the winter, and we’ve done things like giving back to local organizations with “give back days” and running a Black Friday gift card promotion that’s really popular with our regulars.

RagoWhat percentage of your sales come from pizza?

Costas: About 60%.

RagoDid you develop your pizza recipe in-house, and do you have any plans to expand into different styles?

Costas: We actually learned pizza from Tom Gelsosomo, who owns Gelsosomo’s Pizza in Indiana and Illinois. He was a huge help when we were getting started. We’ve got our style, and, honestly, we’re barely keeping up with it as is, so we don’t plan to expand into other styles.

RagoWhat kind of ovens do you use?

Costas: We use Middleby Marshall gas conveyor ovens, with a three-stack inside and another three-stack in the carryout kitchen.

RagoAny standout pizzas on the menu?

Costas: We’ve got a lot of specialty pies, and we like to experiment with a pizza of the month during the off-season. 

RagoDo you have any plans to expand, or is Silver Beach Pizza a one-location operation?

Costas: Right now, we’re focused on perfecting what we have here. We’ve looked into expanding in the past, but we don’t want to mess up what we’ve built. Our team is amazing, and they’re the reason we’re a destination spot.

Marketing