Pielands, a new neighborhood pizza, sub, and slice joint from local Atlanta restaurateur Billy Streck, will open Monday, December 6 in Virginia-Highland, according to a press release Thursday.
Streck is also behind Atlanta’s Nina & Rafi, an Italian-American restaurant and bar offering pizza alongside the Atlanta BeltLine’s Eastside Trail, Hampton + Hudson, the community bar and restaurant serving pub food in Inman Park, and Lyla Lila, a southern European restaurant in the heart of Midtown.
Taking over the former Goin’ Coastal space at the corner of Virginia and North Highland Avenues, the 1,600 square-foot restaurant will serve whole pies, individual slices, salads, and Italian-style subs with cold cuts, lettuce, tomato, EVOO, vinegar, and a variety of toppings, plus beer, wine, and specialty bottled cocktails, like a martini, negroni and old fashioned.
Pielands will also bring old-school soft-serve ice cream to VaHi for guests to enjoy for dessert. Click here for the menu.
Pielands’ design seeks to channel “old-school neighborhood pizzerias with a laidback, community feel,” according to the release. It will focus on grab-and-go items and counter service dining, with casual table and bar seating available in the dining room, as well as additional sidewalk seating. The space will feature red, white, and brick accents, concrete floors dating back to the building’s origins in the early 1900s, a vintage sepia tone photo of the Brooklyn Bridge spanning the main dining room wall, and fun bathroom walls covered in hundreds of pizza-themed stickers, making the restaurant home to quite possibly America’s largest collection of pizza memorabilia. Guests will also enjoy a classic playlist of 80s music, as well as a vintage Ms. Pac-Man video game, complete with vintage game tokens.
“First and foremost, Pielands will be a neighborhood destination that truly embodies a family vibe and sense of community,” Streck said. “We want to get to know our customers on a first name basis, and we’re thrilled to get to know the families of Virginia-Highland, Morningside and beyond.”
A New York native, family man, and self-described Southerner at heart, Billy grew up hanging out in his grandfather’s and dad’s pizzeria in New York and has fond memories of eating pizza throughout his childhood. With Pielands, Billy hopes to continue his mission of creating community places for people to gather. His motto with the staff is, “We strive to treat our customers as regulars and our regulars as family.”
