Pizzeria Opens in Pendleton Heights, Brings East Coast Flavor to Neighborhood

Pepperoni — one of two single-slice options available at Northeast Pizza. | Photo by Dorri Partain

Dorri Partain

Managing Editor

Bringing a taste of New York-style pizza to Kansas City diners, Northeast Pizza offers a variety of signature pies for dine-in and carry out. This new eatery officially opened to customers at 3 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 13.

Scarritt Renaissance resident Noah Quillic partnered with friend Max Popoff to conceive a neighborhood hangout type of venue — an idea that Quillic said came to him shortly after moving into Northeast in 2018. Popoff commutes from Orrick, Mo., and managed the construction, which transformed this space at 2203 Lexington into a quaint, comfortable spot, where diners can have a front row seat to pizza creation or watch TV.

This address for several years was the office for Revolution Educativa (RevED), which recently moved to a larger building a block away at 2301 Lexington Ave.

Quillic and Popoff have worked in the restaurant industry for multiple years and brought in their friend Mike DeStefano as head chef. Together, these three have focused on crafting pizzas using as many fresh ingredients as possible.

In a downstairs prep kitchen, the dough is made, along with the pizza sauce. The dough is allowed to ferment, which gives the crust a chewy texture when baked. The large pizza oven can bake up to eight, 16-inch pies at once.

In a nod to how new this eatery is, on opening day the menu was scribbled on the inside of a pizza box and propped up by large cans of tomatoes. A cardboard sign on the door is standing in for a more professional sign to come later.

Customers order and pay at the counter, then seat themselves. In addition to BYO (build your own pie), selections include the Brooklyn Margherita (for Brooklyn Ave. in Northeast — not New York), the Northeast Supreme, the P.H.H.P. and the Kessler Vodka. Single slices available, at this time, are the classic cheese or pepperoni. A variety of salads are on the menu, and canned soft drinks (Coke, Sprite) are available until the bar becomes operational.

Quillic plans to expand the menu and said they hope to name all the specialty pizzas uniquely in homage to Northeast landmarks.

Prior to the dinner rush, on opening day, I ordered a slice of pepperoni pizza. A one-sixth of a pie slice filled the plate — it was so large I had to fold it in half to pick it up to eat it. I’m not a food critic, but I enjoyed it very much and was full before I reached that last inch of crust. That slice, a can of Sprite, sales tax and 10% tip came to $6.90.

The decor offers a few items that will catch customer’s eyes, such as the front of a vintage 7Up vending machine hung on the wall and a life-size Gumby seemingly caught in a ceiling light fixture.

Northeast Pizza is open from 3 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday and from 3 to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The restaurant is closed on Monday and Tuesday. At this time, only credit/debit cards are accepted for payment.