Crust Pizza in Tremont to Close This Week After 13 Years

Pizza lovers of a certain age can recall a time when Crust Pizza operated out of pocket-size shop on Kenilworth Avenue in Tremont. Despite having a tiny kitchen, no dining room, no air conditioning and no liquor license, the pizzeria thrived thanks to impressive pies built on house-made dough, fresh-baked sub buns and desserts crafted by chef Jeff Fisher.

In 2017, owner Mike Griffin debuted Crust 2.0 in a grand new space (2258 Professor Ave., 216-583-0257) in Tremont, sharing the property with Visible Voice Books. Since launching, Crust has survived Covid, expanded to Midtown and cultivated a successful catering business.

But the Tremont chapter closes this week.

“I’m closing Crust in Tremont,” say owner Mike Griffin. “It’s been 13 years – it could be worse. I think it’s just time for me, but it’s hard to let it go.”

The last day of service is this Friday, August 22.

“It started with a dream 14 years ago,” adds Griffin, who is understandably emotional about the closure.

In addition to a busy Midtown location that serves lunch five days a week and an expanding catering business, Griffin has a young child at home, which makes the decision a little easier to stomach.

“It’s all good,” he says.

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