(WXYZ) — After viral pop-ups and a test run at Detroit's Dragonfly at the end of 2025, Amelia Street Pizza Co. is set to open a permanent location in Hazel Park this year.
The pizza company was founded by Matt Arb, and the permanent location is a partnership between Arb and acclaimed Hazel Park-based chef James Rigato, who is the owner of Mabel Gray.
Amelia Street Pizza Co. will be located at 951 E. 9 Mile Rd., between John R. and Dequindre. The 1,000-square-foot shop is being built out by the same team behind Mabel Gray.
Arb, who was working at Rocket Mortgage, founded Amelia Street after a personal life shift led to him perfecting dough. He was first selling pizzas through Instagram drops from his home, before someone threatened to report him.
According to the partners, the shop will be similar to a New York-style pizza shop with space for 10-15 guests to stand or sit.
The menu will be minimal, intentionally, they said. It will include a cheese pizza, pepperoni pizza, a rotating special pie, cheesebread, homemade cookies and soft drinks.
The pizza is made from a 72-hour cold sourdough ferment and also includes a half-moon Pecorino shave on the crust.
"It’s the coolest thing to have someone like James taking an interest in this little thing that started in my kitchen,” Arb said. “He hasn’t tried to change it or tell me what to do. Having him in my corner is just going to make it even more special. Our goal is to have the best pizza you’ve ever had, but for it to still feel like a neighborhood spot.”
“Matt is opening a shop with no schtick and nowhere to hide in one of the most dense pizza areas in North America,” Rigato said. “His philosophy is almost Japanese in its discipline and total obsession over the dough and the repetition required to achieve greatness.”
Amelia Street Pizza Co. is expected to open in the spring.
