Photo by Anitra Isler
Spina Pizza has been “opening soon” for so long that owner-chef Anthony Spina Jr. can laugh about it now. After years of contractor headaches, city delays, construction snags, and the financial strain of building a restaurant from scratch, the long-awaited pizzeria is finally nearing the finish line. Spina says he hopes to open August 27 following a series of pop-ups. Located in Atlanta Dairies beside Small Fry, for which Spina also serves as partner and chef, the pizzeria is part Jersey and part Italian American red-sauce comfort.
Spina grew up in the pizza business, first in New Jersey and then in Georgia, working under his father, Anthony Spina Sr., founder of O4W Pizza. The elder Spina opened the original Old Fourth Ward stall in Irwin Street Market in 2015, earned a following for his square, crackly Grandma Pie, then moved the restaurant to Duluth. The suburban location quietly closed this summer after roughly a decade in business.
Spina Jr. was 10 years old when his father opened his first restaurant, and he remembers stretching dough, slinging pies, and absorbing the rhythms of a family-run kitchen. Later, he worked with his father at O4W until 2020, when he broke off to do his own thing. Spina Pizza began as a pop-up, first appearing at 8Arm and later at Atlanta Dairies. Early versions leaned Neapolitan-style, with margherita, funghi, and Hot Boy pies, the latter topped with pepperoni and hot honey. The brick-and-mortar will keep some of those flavors, but Spina says the crust and execution have evolved.
Expect six, 12-inch wood-fired pies with rotating specials. Spina says the flavors will be familiar to anyone who followed the pop-ups, with a few new twists. Late-night slices—served Fridays and Saturdays from 10 p.m. to midnight—will nod to his childhood.
Photo by Anitra Isler
Beyond pizza, the menu will include Italian-American favorites like steak pizzaiola (“pizza man’s steak”) with broccoli rabe, potato croquettes with red sauce, a classic chopped salad, wood-roasted lasagna, and cassata al forno, a Sicilian-style baked pastry Spina calls a forgotten dessert. The restaurant will open for dinner six days a week, with weekend lunch service that will eventually expand to weekdays.
The beverage program will be deliberately light: natural wines, amari, and spritzes (no hard liquor). House pours will include white, red, sparkling, and orange wines, with additional by-the-glass and bottle selections rotating daily. Beer will be limited to an Italian pick and a local brew from nearby Three Taverns.
The restaurant seats 100 people. Inside, Spina describes an industrial warehouse feel with a bit of Los Angeles polish: brick walls, a long L-shaped banquette, and tables clustered throughout the center. He pulled inspiration from places he admires, including Pizzeria Bianco and Chicago’s Alla Vita, then filtered it through his own nostalgic lens.
Photo by Anitra Isler
And then there is the pink. The flamingo-like shade reappears throughout the space, from a neon sign to the pizza boxes to the bathrooms. It’s playful by design, a visual cue that Spina Pizza is here for the messy, joyful range of Italian-American dining.
“I’m young,” Spina says. “I want to open as many locations as I can.”
First, he has to open the one that has been years in the making.
