Steve told me about a new pizza place in town that served only thin crust pizza. Naturally, this meant a visit was in order as I like pizza – especially thin crust pizza.
My recent visit was with friend David. When we walked in, there was no one there to greet us so we wandered back to a table in the back of the place and sat down. Our server then noticed us and came over for drink orders.
It is apparent that the focus at 417 is pizza because the menu is almost entirely pizza. There are a couple of salads but I say why order salad when you can have pizza. There are 7 specialty pizzas as well as “Build Your Own” from a list of 17 some ingredients (the menu is listed on the web site). There is only one style of crust – thin – so that part of the pizza decision making process is simple.
David being the carnivore he is meant that we decided to split a medium “Meat Eaters” pizza for $13.29. When the pizza arrived – it was cut into squares meaning there are lots of middle pieces without an edge crust – not my favorite. However, I was pleasantly surprised that this pizza was very crispy all the way across the bottom. It was crispy enough that I didn’t mind eating the middle pieces. Verdict – crust was good.
Toppings were ok – not remarkably better or worse than most other places. Cheese is good old mozzarella and not that slimy Provel stuff that is too often found on thin crust pizza in these parts. The sauce had a lot of flavor and was another hit for me. It was put on fairly thick which I like – yet it didn’t make the crust soggy. Other ‘thin-crust’ places in town could learn something from this.
Between the two of us we polished off the whole pizza leaving me with a satisfied but not-too-full feeling afterward. Our server said that the crust & sauce are made on site. 417’s specialty is thin-crust pizza and they make a good one.
Our server was friendly but at one point I got up to refill my own drink as he went missing for a little while. I also noticed that another couple arrived while we were there and they weren’t greeted either. Steve mentioned they had the same problem on their visit. It appears that the staff hangs out in the kitchen until they notice someone come in.
The space 417 occupies is nice enough with a somewhat Italian flair to it. There are partial walls that create little cubbies to give diners a semi-private area to eat. This may be some of the reason for the greeting issue as it is hard to see all the tables from any one spot.
417 Pizza and is located on South Campbell – just south of James River Expressway occupying a spot in a strip center next to the Andy’s Custard. If you didn’t know 417 Pizza was there you probably would never see it as the building sits back from the road. The sign is also small and blends in with the other businesses in the center.
It is not easy to access the location from the north as you have to cross Campbell. If coming from the North you can turn at the light by Andy’s and then cut through the Andy’s parking lot. If you miss that turn, you will have to wait on traffic at the next turnout which doesn’t have a light. Leaving to go south has a similar issue. There is just a lot of traffic in this particular area, especially since the Sam’s Club opened across the road.
There is delivery available from someplace called “Lighting Delivery” for a $4 charge.
Overall – I liked the pizza at 417. Based on my visit I would rate it among the better thin crust pizzas in town. The location is a problem though and I would imagine at rush hour it would be very difficult to get there.
4560 South Campbell – (417) 887-4417
Web site: http://www.417pizza.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/417pizza
We have been here twice. It was on our second visit that we were not greeted at the door. The problem is that there is a counter right in front of the door that blocks the view of the door from most of the restaurant. So if someone isn’t standing up there, they won’t see you come in.
I like the pizza here. It’s not perfect, but it’s good, and it’s a nice-looking restaurant with nice atmosphere and furnishings.
But it has TWO STRIKES against it:
1. Although they intend to serve alcohol here in the future, they opened before they obtained their liquor license. This is almost always a sign of impending doom for a restaurant startup.
2. If they don’t get someone up front to greet customers, they will not survive. It is a sign of poor cash flow in most cases, with which I can certainly sympathize, but skimping on service is no way to improve your cash flow. You have to be prepared if/when the customers come in.
I’ve driven by a few times….it is hard to miss being up in the plaza….I’ll have to give it a try.
Steve: You mention not getting their liquor license before opening as a bad sign. Why would that be? Is it because of the lost revenue?
Or poor planning regarding the license transfers over to other aspects of the business, etc..?
“it is hard to miss being up in the plaza”
I meant it’s EASY to miss.
Ordered a couple pizzas today. Supreme and BBQ chicken, they were both very good. Service was very friendly, even gave my son a free t-shirt.
We’ll be back.