Uptown’s Grunge-Era Pizza Restaurant Closed and We Missed It

It’s unclear when exactly this happened, but somehow Uptown Pizza closed and most of Minneapolis missed it. City Pages first reported yesterday that the closed sign had become “permanently closed,” on its Facebook page. The last Facebook post from the restaurant is dated February 7. The restaurant’s website still says its open, however the phone line goes unanswered to a full automated voicemail box.

The closing now holds a place part of the continual evolution of the Uptown neighborhood. A change that’s lamented so often, it’s edging up against cliche. Once a ballyhooed artist-populated, scrappy Minneapolis draw, the area is now studded with polished condos and upwardly mobile dwellers mixed with bro-bars, empty retail outlets, and the occasional Sunday morning pile of Fireball vomit on the sidewalk.

First opened in the 1980, Uptown Pizza was a continual source of affordable food for the day and late night dwellers of the area. Even after bar close, Uptown Pizza delivered its magnum-sized pizzas with toppings like Buffalo chicken, BLT, and twice-baked potato on just thin enough crust that were ideally suited for soaking in the ill-effects of a night spent shutting down the Uptown Bar or CC Club. There were always coupons for bringing the price down to I’ve-been-flipping-CDs-at-Cheapo-all-day prices.

In the years the awning had become sun-bleached, the delivery outsourced to online services, but it still retained that gungey Uptown sheen from the old days when the area was a landing zone for the beautiful weirdos.

Now, Uptown Pizza joins the chorus of nostalgic restaurants and bars that have faded into lore.

• It Appears Uptown Pizza Has Closed [CP]
• Uptown - Prince [YouTube]
• Where to Eat and Drink in Uptown [ETC]