When rockers like Jon Bon Jovi and Steven Tyler go looking for New York-style pies in downtown West Palm Beach, Florida, next month, they won’t find it at one of their favorite pizza spots.
City Pizza and Italian Cuisine, located at CityPlace, will close its doors at the end of the month. Not to worry, though. According to The Palm Beach Post, owners Frank and Fatih Sen, who are brothers, will reopen the restaurant at Tangers Outlet Palm Beach on Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard during the same week that they close the CityPlace location.
Last month Frank Sen told Stet News that City Pizza’s rent had simply become unaffordable, although he and his brother have been able to buy enough time to keep the restaurant going for a while. “I was told two years ago the lease was up,” Sen said in a Stet News article posted on September 30. “They gave us an extension then, but without a yearly lease. It’s been month-to-month.”
He said his landlord has now tripled the eatery’s rent and required City Pizza to upgrade to a more upscale concept. After negotiations failed, “They told me I had to leave—my lease is up October 31.”
Frank added, “They want higher-end restaurants. A more upscale clientele. I didn’t owe any money, had never been behind. I redecorated and updated it. They just don’t want this pizza place.”
City Pizza offers pizzas, Italian entrees and calzones at an affordable price—typically between $18.95 and $24.75—in “an unassuming atmosphere,” according to its website. But some of its patrons stand out in a crowd, like Bon Jovi and Tyler, along with Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat, Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros and former NBA player Chris “Birdman” Andersen.
With a clientele like that, you might think City Pizza’s landlords would want it to stay put in its current location. But, as The Palm Beach Post reports, the surrounding area, which is undergoing renovations, has also seen declining foot traffic, with the closing of businesses like the Revolutions bowling alley, the AMC Movie Theater and the Improv comedy venue. A parking garage across the street was also demolished, making it harder for customers to quickly get in and out of the pizzeria.
Stet News reported that other restaurants around the CityPlace mall—such as a Cheesecake Factory next door to City Pizza—could be gone within a year. Meanwhile, some pricier restaurants, like Adrienne’s Pizzabar (a high-end New York transplant with pies ranging in price from $21 to $32) and Harry’s Bar & Restaurant, have moved into the area.
Bob VanNess, a local resident and City Pizza customer, lamented the changes that CityPlace has undergone. “I guarantee in a year—maybe less—you won’t be able to have dinner here for $20 anymore,” he told Stet News.
