At about 2 a.m. on most weekend nights, students pour out of the bars and stumble down South University Avenue looking for a late night snack. Fortunately, there are a variety of greasy spoons where students can get their fix. But the quest to satisfy the “drunk munchies” is about to get a little bit harder.
- Ariel Bond / Daily
The New York Pizza Depot location on South U. will be closing its doors, when its lease expires on April 14, co-owner Maurizio Grillo said yesterday.
Grillo said that with the expiration of the lease the owners thought it would be a good time to close so they could focus more on their other franchises.
“I needed more physical help,” he said. “Instead of having several employees split up, I needed to have more time for my managers.”
Though the closing will bring more manpower to NYPD’s other locations, especially the restaurant on East William Street, Grillo said it will be hard to say goodbye to South U.
“It was a tough decision because we have been there for five years,” he said. “It was a move that we thought over and over.”
Grillo added that the tough economy also factored into the owners’ decision to close the location.
“If the economy was great, I would’ve never left,” he said. “But faced with the harsh reality, we thought it was the best thing to do.”
LSA senior Avrille Hanzel said that with the restaurant gone, she’ll be forced to change her late-night routine.
“NYPD was always open later than a lot of other places,” she said. “I’m always on South U. and that’s a common place that we’ll stop on our way home so I’m kind of a little disappointed.”
Hanzel said that although she’ll be upset once the store closes, she expects that some will benefit from the pizza joint’s departure.
“I guess Backroom (Backroom Pizza) is going to get a little more business,” she said.
LSA freshman Mike Jenkins said he was “sad, disturbed and distraught” to find out the restaurant will be leaving South U.
“It’s such a good atmosphere because it’s so college student-oriented,” he said. “There’s nothing better than that barbeque chicken pizza at 3 a.m.”
Grillo said the restaurant will be offering discounts to help students cope with the location’s departure.
“We’re going to be running some farewell specials to just let everyone know that we’re saying goodbye to South U. for a while,” he said.
Grillo added that he hasn’t completely ruled out the possibility that the restaurant will return to South U.
“You never know what’s going to happen,” he said.