Pizza Box Opens on Central Ave in Downtown St. Pete
/pizza box owners, Adam and kelley duff
After years of honing his pizza prowess at local St. Pete establishments such as Tour de Pizza and Wood Fired, lifelong St. Pete resident Adam Duff, his brother Andrew, and wife Kelley, recently opened the doors to their new restaurant, Pizza Box, located at 923 Central Ave in Downtown St. Pete’s EDGE District. Everything the eatery cooks is made in their 2,000 lb. white clay oven, including wood fired pizzas, meatballs, and vegetables. “We don’t cook using any deep friers, flat top grills, propane, or electricity,” boasts Adam. And unlike most pizzerias, where the pizza oven is tucked away in the back of the restaurant, the oven at Pizza Box is located directly to the left of the front door, allowing whoever is cooking the pizza to interact with the customers. “It’s a great feeling to be able to communicate with as many people as possible. You can never have too many friends,” says Adam.
Adam and Andrew grew up in Shore Acres, 10 minutes away from Pizza Box. After taking over a lawn care business in 2006, Adam decided to study horticulture through the University of Florida. For now, Pizza Box is trying to stay as local as possible with their ingredients, but eventually Adam hopes to use his knowledge of garden cultivation to grow the pizza toppings himself. “The dream would be to have a garden on the roof of Pizza Box. We don't need to buy herbs from other places. We can grow them locally,” he says.
margherita - fresh mozzarella, house made san marzano tomato sauce and fresh basil
With many pizza joints to choose from in Downtown St. Pete, Pizza Box plans on standing out by making a crust like no one else in town. Adam admits, “A lot of pizza places don’t pay enough attention to the crust, but it’s one of the things that matters the most to us.” Each batch of dough is recorded in a journal. If anything doesn’t meet standards, the batch is thrown out. Judging by the Tuesday night crowd, Pizza Box’s attention to detail appears to be paying off.
debbie's veggies - broccoli pesto with goat cheese, caramelized onions, arugula and balsamic glaze
At the moment, there are seven pizzas on the menu, including a Margherita, Veggie, Supreme, and a dessert pizza. You can also order a fire-roasted veggie salad, homemade meatballs, and a goat cheese appetizer. In the future, they hope to expand the menu with items such as a fresh blue crab pizza and steaks cooked in the wood fired oven. Beer and wine is also available. In an effort to keep St. Pete local, the draft beer will always be Pinellas County brewed.
Pizza Box is located at 923 Central Ave, St. Petersburg, FL. Be sure to swing around the back of the restaurant to see the mural that Adam and his brother painted of their cat, Pearl.
For more information, like Pizza Box on Facebook and Instagram.
Monday: Closed
Tuesday: 12:00- 10:00 pm
Wednesday: 12:00 - 10:00 pm
Thursday: 12:00 - 10:00 pm
Friday: 12:00 - 2:00 am
Saturday: 5:00 pm - 2:00 am
Sunday: Closed
