Pizza Head Founder Scott Sandler to Open Pizza Via in the Central West End

One of St. Louis' top pizza makers is getting back in the game.

Scott Sandler — the exacting pizzaiolo who opened, and then sold, Pizzeoli and Pizza Head — will be opening a new pizzeria in the Central West End in early April. Sandler will be opening Pizza Via (4501 Maryland Avenue) in the storefront at the corner of Maryland and Taylor that previously held Cafe Ciao.

In some ways, Pizza Via follows a familiar playbook: a low-key spot with Sandler personally making pies with an exacting focus on quality, from dough to ingredients to a wood-fired oven. But there are some key changes. This time, he'll be cooking with what he calls a wood-fired West Coast-style oven, which does best in the 600-700 degree range (as opposed to the 850-900 degree range in the Neapolitan pizza ovens Pizzeoli uses).

And this time, meat will be among the ingredients.

"I'm still vegetarian," Sandler explains. "But Pizzeoli and Pizza Head still have heavy vegetarian and vegan options. This town doesn't need a third. I don't know that I'm converting anyone to becoming vegetarian or vegan by having a vegetarian pizza place. We'd just be attracting people who are already there."

Sandler is still fine-tuning some details, but he initially plans a short menu, likely just four or five pies with some add-on options. He plans to be open four days a week or so at first, likely from 4:30 or 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. or so. Only after he's up and running and doing well does he plan to seek a liquor license or expand the menu.

He's been inspired by Lucali, the cult-favorite New York City pizzeria that's cash-only, BYOB and serves pies made with rolled out dough (instead of the ubiquitous hand-tossed). "I've got my recipe down," he pledges. "It's a totally different recipe than my other places — fermented two or three days so you get a lot of flavor in the dough." The rolled dough makes for a thinner crust that's a bit crispier.

For Sandler, getting back in the pizza game couldn't be more exciting. After selling Pizza Head, he says, he contemplated other jobs, only to realize pizza had claimed his heart. "Do I really want to pick up and start a new career at this stage of my life when this is what I love to do?" he recalls asking himself.

"Pizza is the only thing that's exciting me to go to work," he says. "I'm excited to wake up in the morning. Pizza's just something — I love being a part of it. And I love serving people."


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