Goat Hill Pizza’s 300 Connecticut Street location closed last month for renovations, with plans to reopen in September.
“We’re redesigning the restaurant to accommodate dedicated delivery to Potrero Hill, Dogpatch and Mission Bay,” said Goat Hill Pizza chief executive officer David Sturno. “We will add an additional two-deck pizza oven. This will double our capacity for cooking pizza.”
According to Sturno, the primary reason for the renovation is to speedup delivery times to Southside neighborhoods. Currently, the company’s 171 Stillman Street outlet delivers to Potrero Hill and Dogpatch. Once reopened, the Hill restaurant will take over Southside deliveries, as well as possibly locations west of the Hill. The delivery area for Goat Hill Pizza’s 170 West Portal Avenue eatery will remain unchanged.
“I was percolating the idea a year ago,” said Sturno. “In September, I hired an architect and planned the design. We began in earnest at the beginning of February. Now the drawings are done and the permits are submitted and approved. We just have to start the remodeling effort.”
As part of the reopening of the Potrero Hill location a dedicated Goat Hill Pizza delivery app will be launched, allowing customers to order directly from the restaurant.
“We have reluctantly used third-party apps but began to realize they separated us from our customers,” said Sturno. “This required a staff member to punch the order into our Point of Sale system even after the customer had placed a request through the app. We are developing and integrating our own app that connects right to the POS. The order will go to the kitchen with no intermediary step. Making it easier for guests to order online via the app is part of our overall effort to better connect with and serve our customers.”
Weston Stankowski, Goat Hill Pizza director of operations, looks forward to Potrero Hill getting its own delivery service. “Delivering to Potrero from SoMa can be spotty because it depends on traffic,” said Stankowski. “You have to get around the bend and then get into Potrero and Dogpatch. Under the wrong conditions that could take a while.”
Greg Kitchen, owner and founder of Triple Voodoo Brewery, at 2245 Third Street, also appreciates the change. “Our 14-tap tasting room doesn’t have a kitchen,” said Kitchen. “Our customers really love Goat Hill Pizza. We provide their menus. People usually order the pizza themselves, but sometimes our bartenders order it for them. It takes 40 to 45 minutes for a pizza to come from SoMa. If it could get here faster, that would be great.”
Kitchen recommends Triple Voodoo’s Illinois Street IPA and Anxiety Pils, a Pilsner beer, as pairings for Goat Hill Pizza pies. “There is no favorite type of pie. Customers order all sorts,” said Kitchen.
According to Jim Kleinmann, artistic director at PlayGround, a playwright incubator operating at Potrero Stage, formerly Thick House, the organization’s writers and actors are saddened about the temporary closure. “Goat Hill Pizza is sort of our home away from home,” said Kleinmann. “We do all of our parties and receptions there. Now I am looking at our schedule to see what their closure means for us.”
Kleinmann, who prefers a classic pepperoni pie, said a few members of the group dine at the Potrero location whenever the company is performing at the theatre. “It will be a big relief for us when they reopen in the fall,” he said.
Sarah Davis, Mission Bay resident and long-time Goat Hill Pizza customer, is also upset that the Potrero restaurant will be closed over the summer. “Goat Hill Pizza is one of the things that’s part of our daily lives,” said Davis. “I’ve been going for a long time. We go for birthdays and graduations.”
Davis said she’s experienced traffic delay deliveries to the Southside, and is excited that the restaurant is taking steps to improve transport time. “Nobody wants a regular restaurant to close for any length of time. Anybody who lives here knows the traffic is horrible. I’m happy that Goat Hill Pizza is making a move to be more locally serving,” said Davis.
“When we opened 42 years ago, we were responding to the changing needs of the Potrero Hill community. These upgrades reinvigorate that mission,” said Goat Hill Pizza co-owner Philip De Andrade. “We are incredibly excited about what’s to come!”
