Sunnyvale: A Slice of New York Pizza shop closes, replaced by Slice of Homage

Sunnyvale just now waved goodbye to a cherished pizza restaurant along El Camino Real and will now say hello to another pizza shop Yes that s right Slice of Homage Pizza is replacing A Slice of New York s former storefront at W El Camino Real Locals can anticipate Homage to debut in the upcoming months according to owner Steven Barrantes Related Articles From Northern to Southern California restaurants are on edge over ICE raids Heed the siren call of Crockett the Bay Area small town that time forgot of the world s best salads amazing Bay Area things to do this weekend Icy treats Find refreshing raspados paletas and other cooling desserts at these Bay Area shops Quality and customer function is our number one thing Barrantes explained We plan on continuing that here A Slice of New York which has another location along Steven s Creek in San Jose served pipping hot pies out of Sunnyvale for years The store dished out its last pizza slice on June after years of staffing shortages and costly rental space made it arduous to keep operations afloat according to owner Kirk Vartan The New York native explained the decision to close was a hard one but he s happy that another independently-owned pizza shop will take its place It s exactly what we desired other than us keeping it Vartan commented Slice of Homage Pizza which is famed for its Sicilian New York-style and Detroit-style pies opened in The business has a storefront in downtown San Jose and operates a ghost kitchen out of Sunny s Food Hall in west Sunnyvale Barrantes disclosed Homage is doing well at the food hall and staff can t wait to go into full restaurant mode at the El Camino location The store will be complete with longer hours sit-down eating areas and new types of pizza We just want to celebrate all styles of pizza Barrantes disclosed That way somebody can eat Detroit style or round or deep dish or extra thin or crispy We have a little bit of everything for everyone A Slice of New York s was popular among Sunnyvale locals who enjoyed the store s thin-crust pizza iconic paintings of the New York City skyscraper and life-size decorative subway car Staff members saw customers grow up and help host numerous birthday parties and special occasions events But then came the COVID- pandemic When the Bay Area s financial sector took a turn for the worse in a multitude of small businesses struggled to stay open Even years later particular eateries like A Slice of New York never quite recovered I can draw a straight line from Covid through the closing of our shop Vartan disclosed The restaurant mostly struggled with finding and retaining full-time workers Vartan stated Without a consistent staff the location could only afford to open a limited three-day-a-week schedule At last in March Vartan took to social media to announce the June closure From the bottom of our hearts thank you for your incredible help he wrote Since opening our doors on January we have proudly served this neighborhood for over years through economic downturns industry shifts and the majority in recent weeks the lasting effects of COVID which hit this location particularly hard Vartan and Barrantes noted they worked together since March to make the transition as smooth as manageable It s pivotal for both owners Vartan revealed to be able to provide Sunnyvale with an accessible and exciting pizza shop The shop s got plenty of life in it he disclosed