Downtown Tacoma pizza restaurant with unique pies and slices has closed
APIZZA Little Italy closed permanently in early October after just shy of three years in downtown Tacoma. The owner, Marshall Jett, who leased the physical space, hopes to sell the restaurant.
The last day of service was Sunday, Oct. 5. Jett first shared the news on Facebook and Instagram a few days later. He is retiring from the restaurant business, which has been his career for more than 20 years, and hopes to pursue “other creative projects,” he wrote.
Confirming the closure in a message to The News Tribune this week, he referred to the statement shared on social media. In it, he also thanked his staff “for all that they did to make APIZZA so special, delicious and successful” and the customers “who made it possible to succeed and grow for almost three years.”
He also noted the many musicians who played free concerts, which were frequent. The music, he wrote, “was one of the best parts of the whole experience … the arts are alive and well here in Tacoma.”
APIZZA Little Italy opened in late 2022 at 821 Pacific Ave. Jett moved to Tacoma several years prior from Seattle, where he had run Veraci Pizza since 2004, first as a mobile oven at the farmers market and then a brick-and-mortar restaurant. He sold his stake in that business, which continues, before embarking on the downtown Tacoma project.
At APIZZA, he served a unique pie that was part-Neapolitan, part-New York and part-Connecticut — the latter inspiring the “apizza” name — baked in a custom, gas-powered clay oven. In addition to 12- and 16-inch pies, the restaurant served daily slices, a few salads, appetizers, gelato and cannolis, plus beer, wine and light cocktails.
Jett spent a couple years slowly building out the space with a big open kitchen. The dining room was long and relatively narrow, with somewhat bulky oak tables and chairs. It was an unusual approach for the Tacoma area, and the pizza was one-of-a-kind, made with high-quality ingredients. But the restaurant seemed to struggle with staffing, consistency and the flow of hospitality, while some customers felt the prices didn’t match the experience, according to online reviews.
The restaurant also stopped and started lunch service — trying again most recently this summer with East Coast-style subs that held some promise.
“We are hoping a new generation of culinary entrepreneurs will pick up where we left off — and take our innovative design and open kitchen to a new level,” said Jett, who is accepting “serious business inquiries” via email.
The property, which includes Fresh Rolls on the corner of Pacific and 9th, is owned by Seattle-based Stellar Holdings, according to county records.
APIZZA is the second restaurant to shutter after just a few years in arguably one of Tacoma’s most desirable nightlife corridors. Amor Wine and Tapas closed in June. The block also includes the ever-busy Wooden City and Matador as well as Thai Pepper, The Office and The Forum. Odd Otter Brewing Co., under new ownership since 2024, now sells sandwiches and charcuterie boards, and West 122 has entered a new chapter after being sold to the young couple behind Ebony and Ivory Coffee.