The Story Until Now...
2 Michelin star restaurateur Brian O'Connor dreamt up Pop Pop Pizza in 2019 with the goal to bring the delicate thin and crispy pizza of his youth to the world. Shortly after hosting the first informal Pop Pop dinners, the world stopped gathering and more pressing work arose. The next couple years were focused on helping restaurant friends across the country work to make sense of 25% service capacities and the piles of paperwork underlying an alphabet soup of assistance programs.
But the sirens wouldn't stop singing, and the team kicked off 2023 back in the kitchen, developing recipes and eventually testing pies in a proper deck oven. Thirty-six iterations later, we had our dough (it's #33), and began taking Pop Pop pizza to the world.
Pretty soon we were selling out our "Pie in the Sky" rooftop series, pizza parties in backyards across the city, and an entire week at the W Hotel. Our little word-of-mouth secret was out, and it was time to put down roots.
This past summer we launched "Pizza Lab." In ten days we spun up a three-month concept store where we ran through multiple models of serving our pies, from lavish tasting menu dinners to takeout through the window. At long last we were serving hundreds of pizzas a week, refining all the systems and special touches we'll need to launch our first brick and mortar in 2026.
And now the search has begun!
So what's a Pop Pop?
Well, the actual Pop Pop is Joseph "Buddy" O'Connor, lovingly called "Pop Pop" by his grandkids Libby and Liam. The memory of his convivial spirit and his hard-and-fast rule to never arrive at a party empty-handed ("open the door with your elbows") inspires and drives our hospitality.
A Pop Pop Pizza party brings together a group of great people around a rolling feast of thin and crispy pizzas, some of the finest veggies and salads we can make from the market, and a few composed plates just to feel a little fancy. Oh, and there's ice cream at the end.
And wine. Did we mention the wine? It's in the name, after all. From light and easy sippers to perfectly aged classics our only rule is that what's in the glass must be delicious.
Stay tuned as we work to bring the party to you every day in 2026.
