Square Pie Guys, a Bay Area pizza chain known for popularizing Detroit-style pizza, is closing its Palo Alto restaurant after just one year of operation. The final day of service at the 369 California Ave. location will be Friday.
Founder and owner Marc Schechter expressed his frustration with the closure in an Instagram video, stating, "It's not something that we take lightly and it kind of pisses me off straight up." The Palo Alto shop is the first Square Pie Guys location to close since the company began expanding.
The chain, which opened its first brick-and-mortar store in San Francisco's SoMa district in 2019, has since grown to six locations, with its most recent opening in Walnut Creek in December. The Palo Alto restaurant's closure comes amidst the company's ongoing expansion efforts.
Schechter indicated that the location's placement on a street segment closed to car traffic presented challenges. "Ordered PU from you once, accessibility and parking was a challenge with a closed off street. Best to you!" one commenter noted on social media, echoing potential customer difficulties.
While lunch orders remained steady, Schechter told the San Francisco Chronicle that dinner and weekend traffic consistently lagged. "I’m sorry, and I feel like we let a lot of people down," Schechter told customers via Instagram.
Despite the setback in Palo Alto, Schechter remains optimistic about the brand's future. He recently co-authored a cookbook titled "Square Pie Guy" and has hinted at plans for a new location, though it will not be in the South Bay. Schechter also expressed openness to returning to Palo Alto in the future.
