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Ever heard of Detroit style pizza? Well I have, but I have an unfair advantage of growing up in the suburbs of Detroit. Picture this; thick but still light and airy crust topped with lots of gooey, melty cheese and finished off with toppings and sauce on top. It doesn’t end there, the very best part about this pizza is the caramelized crunchy cheese edge. Via 313 is baked in blue steel pans with the cheese right up to the edge so in the oven it gets a chance to get all crunchy and golden all the way around. Hungry yet? Well you are in luck because Via 313 just opened their newest restaurant at 1802 East 6th Street.
Almost seven years ago two brothers from downriver Detroit opened up Via 313 pizza in a little black trailer outside of Violet Crown Social Club at 1111 East 6th Street. That trailer has grown into three full restaurants and one additional trailer on Rainey Street behind Craft Pride.
I had a chance to sit down with Brandon Hunt and get to know a little bit more about his business and his connections with East Austin.
What originally drew you to the area?
“When I first moved here that’s where I would hang. I enjoyed the dive bars and punk attitude that came with them. When I went to the Violet Crown Social Club for the first time I could tell it was different. It was doing what the other bars on the street were doing but they were doing it better than everyone else. When the trailer in front of the bar was for sale on craigslist it was a no brainer to buy it. The east side was the closest thing that reminded me of Detroit.”
What do you think the future has in store for the neighborhood?
“The 02 has clearly changed in the 7 years we’ve been over there. It’s becoming more upscale as the clientele changes. Pizza thankfully doesn’t have much boundaries and kind of works in any neighborhood. We felt like as real estate keeps trending up that it was important to lock up a lease over there as it becomes harder and harder to keep a trailer long term. I think we will continue to see a lot of new construction and higher end concepts opening in the near future and we will just keep doing what we do.”
As the east side is becoming more developed how are you dealing with the new national chains in the area?
“We honestly don’t pay much attention to other restaurants. I think as land keeps getting overvalued it gets harder and harder to make an affordable concept work in this town. So it’s very important to us that we are the neighborhood place that is affordable. A place that you could eat once or twice a month instead of something super special that you’d eat once a year for a special occasion.”
What steps do you take as a business to connect with the east community?
“We never say no to anything. If a school needs pizzas for an event we are there, if someone is throwing a party on no budget we work with them, if someone is having a fundraiser we donate to it. Everyone of our locations donates every month to a different local charity. We are very involved in every aspect we can be.”
What is your favorite item on the menu?
“Right now it’s the ambassador bridge. Natural casing pep, sausage, garlic, oregano and whipped ricotta.”
