Hollywood Pies Reopens: Deep Dish Pizza Fans Rejoice

Hollywood Pies in Mid-City is again open for business, every Tuesday through Sunday night. If you want to stop in for a kickass dinner, or to pick up a pie for takeout, that's all you need to know. Well, that and which pizza you want to call ahead and order.

What you might be scratching your head and asking is: “Didn't they abruptly announce they were closing, just a few weeks ago?” The answer is, yes, they did. Four weeks ago, in fact.

While we were praising them in our Best Of issue for having the best deep dish pizza in the city, the owner was posting a note on Facebook announcing he was closing the doors. Now, thanks to a major change of heart and some serious begging from fans, it's back open.

Two years ago, engineer David Miscimarra began tinkering with a Chicago-style pizza recipe. He had lived in the Windy City and wanted to bring a taste of that to Southern California, so he developed a deep dish pie and began baking for the public. What started with people ordering pizza to pick up from a commercial kitchen almost ended as a short-lived small restaurant on Pico — when he abruptly called it quits in late September.

After a monthlong break, Miscimarra is recharged and the shop is back on track. (This just makes us wistful. Where do we send pleading letters for other spots we fervently wish would reopen?)

According to Miscimarra, the closing was based on a few personal issues. It was mostly a feeling of being burnt out by running a restaurant, coupled with the end of a relationship.

“I was enthusiastic, but I wasn't a restaurant person,” Miscimarra told us. “But I've become a restaurant person and I think I am doing a good job doing what we do. Now I think the pizzas are the best we've ever put out.”

There have been a few tweaks — the sauce is slightly spicier now — but for the most part the menu has remained the same. As for Miscimarra, he was humbled and grateful to learn that so many people loved his pies, and he's looking forward to continuing to grow the business. “Now I'm having fun, and when we closed I wasn't having fun. When we reopened I looked at what I could do to make it fun again.”

The roughly 7-pound (we asked) pizzas are still all made from scratch and available for dine-in or pick-up. Delivery is on indefinite hold.

“I wondered what the response would be when we reopened, but it was awesome,” Miscimarra says. “We've got an amazing following and I really appreciate it.”

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