Square Pie Guys Is Bringing Its Celebrated Detroit-Style Pizzas to the South Bay

Eater

2 days ago

is the regional editor for Eater's Northern California/Pacific Northwest sites, writing about restaurant and bar trends, upcoming openings, and pop-ups for the San Francisco Bay Area, Portland, Seattle, and Denver.
South Bay, get ready: Square Pie Guys is set to launch its most ambitious expansion plan since its 2019 beginnings. As of Tuesday, August 5, Square Pie Guys will open its first official South Bay location in Campbell, with two more locations soon to follow in the upcoming months.
Now the mini chain is officially migrating south with its fourth store, located next to the Pruneyard Shopping Center. It's a big move for Square Pie Guys owner Marc Schechter. The business cautiously dipped a toe outside San Francisco and Oakland through a partnership with Local Kitchens, a chain of micro food halls composed of Bay Area restaurants. While that partnership expanded Square Pie Guys' reach through the various Local Kitchens locations, it was never the same as the original. While the quality may have been there, by virtue of sharing space with other restaurants, the menu was admittedly limited, Schechter says. But now Square Pie Guys is on its own, launching not only with a newer, bigger place in Campbell, but also (eventually) a bigger menu.
Some of the decor at the new Square Pie Guys. Square Pie Guys
The original Square Pie Guys offerings will be at the new shop, including the loaded pepperoni pizza, two mushroom slices, the Big Von with white sauce, Italian sausage, pepperoni, Mike's Hot Honey, and more. Szechuan wings and other flavored wings will also be on offer, as well as some salad options, like the chop salad. But with this new 3,500-square-foot space comes room to play.
Schechter has dabbled with adding non-pizza dishes to the menu over the years, some of which were eventually pulled — such as the brief, but popular, Hetchy's Hots hot chicken sandwiches. Longtime customers may remember a short-lived smash burger at the Mission location, and thanks to a flat-top grill, the Square Pie Guys team plans to bring that back in the restaurant's first three months of operation. The hope is to continue that experimentation, with Schechter teasing some 'fun sandwiches' down the line. The other locations began serving lunch in April, adding on a classic Italian combo and a chicken parm sandwich, served on focaccia-like bread made from the pizza dough. Diners can expect items like those to make an appearance down the line.
The Campbell location will have Square Pie Guys' first-ever soda machine. Square Pie Guys
Along with the flat-top adding a new dimension to the Square Pie Guys offerings, the new location also has more beers on tap than the other shops, plus wine and the mini-chain's first-ever soda machine. There will also be outdoor seating, perfect for the warmer South Bay weather. The expansion is a fitting plan for a restaurant whose original fans are spreading throughout the Bay Area. Schechter says some of their original customers have since moved on from San Francisco during the pandemic, settling in cities just like Campbell. 'Part of [this new Campbell opening] is us wanting to in make sure that we can serve our original fans, or even new fans that we have acquired just by existing in the city,' Schechter says.
Square Pie Guys (501 East Campbell Avenue, Campbell) debuts on Tuesday, August 5, and will be open 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.