Perrysburg’s 5th Street Pub has been bringing authentic Neapolitan pizza to Northwest Ohio diners for nearly two years.
This spring, it aims to expand its 150-year-old recipes and Italian baking techniques to a new location 16 miles up the road. The pizzeria and pub is expanding to a second location in Sylvania at 5577 Monroe St.
“Since day one, we’ve had people coming in from Sylvania,” said Geoff Kies, who owns the restaurant with his wife Melissa. “And every person from Sylvania would lament, ‘Man, I wish you guys were closer.’”
The owners had started looking in the Sylvania area for possible expansion when the opportunity arose to purchase the former Hamway’s on the Main and World Tea Company in the Promenade Shops. Together, the two businesses will become the second 5th Street Pub, with roughly the same square footage as the original.
With a complete gutting and renovation of the location in order, Kies is hoping to open in early April.
“People in Sylvania have a little bit more of an advanced palate than most places,” he said. “There’s a lot of good restaurants up there, so they’re used to good food. … I think it’s going to be a really good fit.”
Neapolitan pizzas are made a specific way, with specific ingredients — just like they were made in Italy in the 19th century. Less yeast is used in the dough, which must be stretched a certain way. The three primary toppings are tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese — much less than on most pizzas — and basil leaves. Wood-burning ovens reaching 1,000 degrees bake the pies in 90 seconds.
Kies and managing partner Bruce Rahe went to New York City several years ago to be trained in the process by Roberto Caporuscio, who owns Kesté Pizzeria. At the time, they were two of the just 35 people in the U.S. certified in making Neapolitan pies.
Kies said the reception to the Old World food has been enthusiastic.
“The kind of pizza we sell, it’s very different than the pizza people are used to around here,” he said. “We were hoping that people were going to eat this stuff up, and they have.
“I think people are smarter these days due to the Food Network and things like that, you have a more educated palate among the people,” Kies said. “They can get into the fact that the recipe we use to make this pizza is 150 years old.
“The ingredients that make the margherita pizza that we have comes from the same part of Italy that first margherita pizza came from. We don’t use any modern techniques in cooking the pizza, it’s all Old-World techniques,” Kles said. “We’re trying to preserve the history of Neapolitan pizza — Neapolitan pizza being the one that gave birth to pizza everywhere, all over the world. This is the one that started it.”
While the second location will mirror the look and atmosphere of the first, Kies is still determining if patio space will be possible in Sylvania. The Perrysburg pub added an enclosed, all-season patio last year after some neighbors complained of noise from the establishment. Kies is eyeing the front of the former World Tea Company property as the most likely candidate for patio space.
Kies said the second 5th Street Pub will employ about 40 people, with 35 of them being new employees. Those interested in applying may do so at the original location, 105 W. 5th St., Perrysburg. For more information, visit 5thstreetpub.com. O
