Pizza Shop Swap: Tacoma pizzeria closes, but another local name will replace it
The Blind Pig, the pizza-focused Italian restaurant and cocktail bar in Tacoma’s Proctor District, closed last weekend. It has been sold to the owners of Fondi Pizzeria, both parties confirmed to The News Tribune this week.
The new Fondi anticipates an early 2025 opening at 2515-2517 N. Proctor St., said co-owner Chris Olsen, with a menu of Neapolitan-style pies and a full bar.
Pies start around $15 for a margherita and top out at $24 for the Milano with multiple meats and three types of cheese. All five salads with homemade dressings come in small, medium and large portions, ranging from $8 to $23 — and they are generous. Starters include bruschetta from the pizza oven, meatballs and spinach-artichoke dip.
At lunch, a small pizza or combo (half-panini and soup or salad, for instance) is $13 with a fountain drink.
“We are not changing what we do,” Olsen said, adding that the goal is to provide a comfortable, all-ages dining room where guests can “find something for value or a nice night out — we’ll be able to do all those things for you.”
Once under the auspices of Restaurants Unlimited and then Landry’s Inc., the Gig Harbor pizzeria closed in fall 2019. Olsen, as the longtime general manager, decided to rescue it — along with its now-20-year-old sourdough starter, nicknamed Sophia Loren.
He and his two business partners had been scouting for a second location, a search that took them north to Silverdale and across the Sound to Lynnwood.
THE BLIND PIG CLOSED, BUT MILLVILLE IS OPEN
Meanwhile, The Blind Pig’s owners, John and Alyssa Ross with Riley Hazlip, were looking for a buyer.
They opened the restaurant in 2022 as a dual-concept: Millhouse, a family-friendly pizza shop through one door, and The Blind Pig, a 21-and-up classic cocktail bar on the other. They shared a kitchen and menu of, eventually, wood-fired pizzas, big salads and panuozzos. Just a few weeks ago, they knocked down a section of the wall between the two spaces, opting for an adults-only atmosphere.
Ultimately, juggling a restaurant on one side of the Narrows Bridge and their original business in Gig Harbor, Millville Pizza Co., became too much. Last year, they also took on a food truck at 7 Seas Brewing on the water.
In an email, John Ross called it “a difficult decision” to sell the Tacoma business.
“In the 2.5 years we had been in that location we had developed many strong relationships with the community, and were very proud of the product and service that we had created over that time. Ultimately the decision to sell was based on the location and the choice to focus on our two Gig Harbor locations: Millville Pizza Co. and The Galley food truck at 7Seas,” he said, adding the need to balance work with their growing family.
The decision means more attention for Millville, which opened in 2015. It remains a popular spot in downtown Gig Harbor with a nice selection of beer and wine.
After running a mobile wood-fired pizza oven at 7 Seas’ taproom, they recently unveiled The Galley.
“The pizza truck … simply lacked the size to grow the menu from the four pizzas we offered,” said Ross. “It was always our intent to offer a wider menu.”
It offers burgers, paninis and fries, with the goal of adding new items, including fish and chicken sandwiches, jalapeno poppers and soup.
Olsen, who used to live in the Proctor neighborhood, is eager to take over a prominent Proctor address. Before The Blind Pig, Europa Bistro occupied the 2,600-square-foot space for more than 20 years.
Similar to the Gig Harbor setup, the second Fondi will feature an open pizza kitchen with a gas-powered oven in a “fire-engine red” hue. They also plan to remove more of the wall between the lounge and dining room but will retain the pretty wood bar itself.
This “open floor plan” will allow for flexible table arrangements, he continued, with “the ability to handle groups of two to 20.”
FONDI PIZZERIA - PROCTOR
▪ 2515-2517 N. Proctor St., Tacoma, fondi.com
▪ Details: Gig Harbor pizzeria opening second location in Tacoma; target opening early 2025
▪ Gig Harbor: 4621 Point Fosdick Dr., open Sunday-Thursday 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m., Friday-Saturday 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
MILLVILLE PIZZA CO.
▪ 3409 Harborview Dr., Gig Harbor, 253-514-8626, millvillepizzaco.com
▪ Daily 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
THE GALLEY AT 7 SEAS
▪ 2905 Harborview Dr., instagram.com/thegalley_gigharbor
▪ Daily 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
This story was originally published October 3, 2024 at 5:00 AM.