First look: Pop Pizza, a Detroit-style pizzeria from one of Portland’s top bakers

Pop Pizza, a new pizzeria from one of Portland’s top bakers, will debut its Detroit-style pies Thursday, according to owner Marius Pop.

The new pizzeria takes up a corner space at the Modera Belmont, the same building home to Southeast Portland’s just-opened Berlu Vietnamese bakery. Originally intended as a showcase for the best-in-class croissants and other laminated pastries at Pop’s Nuvrei, the baker and new father chose to change course last year, deciding the space needed a “concept that’s going to be a home run out of the gate.”

Starting Thursday, Pop Pizza will offer two salads and six pies for takeout only via its website, with delivery options coming as soon as Saturday. Toppings range from classic three cheese (mozzerella, cheddar and Wisconsin brick) and pepperoni (with crispy Ezzo pepperoni cups) to more creative options such as the Canadian bacon pie with pineapple and jalapeño and the kale and white Parmesan sauce, all with the signature Detroit-style square-cut slices and crispy cheese edges.

As first reported by The Oregonian in October, the original plan was to marry Pop’s Detroit-style pies with a Roman-style presentation, with a half-dozen pies sitting behind gleaming glass counter tops as they might in a pizza al taglio shop. But with the coronavirus-time decision to hold off on in-person dining, that aspect will have to wait.

Pop spent the past few months dialing in a minimum two-day fermented dough that with a “thin eggshell crunch” that somehow still “feels substantial” in the hand, Pop says. Most importantly, the pies carry their temperature well, an essential for home delivery, he says.

“This is a blue-collar pizza,” says Pop. “It’s Detroit, it’s a working-man’s pizza, so we want it to feel like a good value, but we don’t want it to eat too heavy. The day I finally got the recipe to where I wanted it I almost shed a tear.”

Pop Pizza is still waiting on its liquor license. Once that goes through, partner Johan Arlig, a former Wieden + Kennedy art director, plans to work with Victor Martinez of Ardor Wines to put together a small selection of natural wines for the shop. For now, the shop is only selling whole pies, but individual slices should be available down the road.

Pop Pizza will be open from 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday at 610 S.E. Morrison St., poppizza.co

-- Michael Russell, mrussell@oregonian.com, @tdmrussell

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