I’d never heard of any popular pizza places in South Tampa during my undergrad years so I had no clue how much of a staple it was in the SOHO area. When it closed, it had a cult-like following and the question of its return never ended. According to owner Scott “Ryan” Quinn, he was surprised people still remembered the pizza place and how beloved it was.

A slice of my Deck Pizza interview with Quinn:

“South Tampa’s legendary Deck Pizza makes its return this Friday, Feb. 28, at 2202 W. Platt St., where it closed four years ago. Who do we have to thank for the return of the ‘za? The pizza lovers of SoHo. For that, we thank you. CL checked in with Deck’s part-owner Scott “Ryan” Quinn who’s also a partner at Bar Hwrd (stylized “HWRD”) next door.

“A lot of people always asked us if we’ll reopen. It had a cult following almost,” says Quinn. He is partners at Bar Hwrd and Deck Pizza along with longtime childhood friends Hank Brown, Al Rogers, and Enrique DeJesus. 

To jog everyone’s memory, the first Deck Pizza closed in 2016 after being in business for 12 years. Quinn says he closed the joint for a handful of reasons, but mostly to spend more time with his family.

“I had another business and the late hours got to be too much. Plus, my kids were small at the time too,” he explains. 

Although thoughts of the Deck making a comeback were on the back burner, it wasn’t until Quinn and the gang opened Bar Hwrd in SoHo about six months ago that the idea became a reality. Customers frequenting Bar Hwrd and inquiring about Deck Pizza set that revival into motion, and they soon realized it wasn’t a long shot to get back up and running considering Brown still owned the property Deck Pizza sat on.”

Stop by Deck Pizza when it soft opens this Friday. Read the rest of the story here.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DP