50 Top Pizza named Stanzione 87 one of the best pizzerias in the United States in 2022. So why is co-owner Franco Stanzione suddenly closing its doors after more than 11 years in business in Miami?
“We would like to inform our patrons that we will no longer be serving pizza out of our Brickell location,” a May 6 post on Instagram read. “We never imagined we would be serving the Brickell community for over 11 years when we began our mission to bring Neapolitan pizza to Miami. Thank you for all of the years of support and your patronage.”
The pizzeria’s fans probably never imagined it would close after 11 years. Or maybe they did. In an interview with Eater Miami, Stanzione, who also owns Ash! Pizza Parlor with his wife, Ashley, hinted that customers have been eating elsewhere lately. He said sales have been consistently poor for the past year as the Brickell neighborhood has grown “oversaturated” with new restaurants.
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“The value proposition just isn’t there anymore for the customer base in Brickell,” Stanzione told Eater Miami.
Stanzione 87 fires up its authentic Neapolitan pies in a wood-burning Stefano Ferrara oven for about 90 seconds. The restaurant has garnered acclaim from the Miami New Times, Thrillist, Timeout and Harper’s Bazaar, among others.
50 Top Pizza ranked Stanzione 87 at No. 34 in its list of the 50 best pizza restaurants in the United States two years ago. “The secret is not only in the excellent dough, but also in the tastiness of the tomato sauce that is used, which is top quality, as are all the other ingredients,” the guide raved.
The Miami New Times, reporting on the closure of Stanzione 87, said stiff competition for customers’ dining-out dollars never led to diminished quality.
“Even as many fine-dining restaurants kept popping up in Brickell, Stanzione 87 managed to continue to deliver on its promise of a top-quality meal, in this case, pizza,” the New Times article stated. “The wood-fired Neapolitan-style pies would arrive with their crusts perfectly blistered, their centers impossibly molten. The Margherita was a classic for those who were purists, as well as the classic with sausage and peppers. Those who were feeling more adventurous might opt for the decadent truffle white pizza. However, some of its most delicious pies were the carbonara, sausage and bell pepper.”
Ash! Pizza Parlor will remain open, and Stanzione seems to be pondering new culinary opportunities. “I’m not super rushed to open anything new right away,” he told Eater Miami. “The market is tough right now. I’m looking for the right location and the right time to make a move, taking everything into account before making a decision.”
