Evenings at the popular daytime spot Hunnybee Bruncheonette (789 Gore Street) are about to get a lot more interesting as a new, fully licensed operation called Thank You Pizza moves in to sling good drinks and proper pies.

Local hospitality and beer industry veteran Devon Towler (33 Acres, Brassneck, Birds & The Beets, The Magnet) is behind the project and piggybacking on the Hunnybee lease, which gives him Thursday through Sunday nights. There will only be 14 seats due to Covid protocols. Once they get through their first two weeks of sit-down only service I expect a takeout-first posture to likely take hold until herd immunity is a thing.

The chef is Lee Kellough, who was pizzaiolo at Pizzeria Farina for its first three years before moving on to Ask For Luigi and later Gastown’s vibrant Juice Bar pop-up. He’ll be making some seven different pies in a wood-burning oven squeezed inside a fully equipped container kitchen that’s been mounted to the bed of a Peterbilt transport truck. The beer and wine program will be the charge of Juice Bar fixture Siôn Iorwerth. You can preview the menu and tiny but very interesting wine list here.

This is clearly a very solid crew with a pre-existing fanbase and a focus (proper wood-fired pizza paired with beer and wine) that most people can really get behind. In other words, it’s a win for both the bike-busy corner of Gore and Union and the largely restaurant-bereft neighbourhood of Strathcona.

Thank You Pizza will softly open for friends and family tomorrow (Thursday, Feb. 11) with regular service to kick off this weekend. Hours will be 4pm until late.

Thank You Pizza

Neighbourhood: Strathcona

789 Gore Ave.

WEBSITE