My family often celebrates Friday with “pizza and game night,” ordering from our local Pagliacci at Stone and 40th. I’ve been watching the remodel of the store with curiosity, wondering if one day we could make use of the dining room – pizza being one of the few dining out experiences that consistently goes well with young kids. Last week, I noticed that solar panels had been installed on the roof, and I could no longer contain my enthusiasm. Luckily, marketing guru Shelley McNulty answered her phone and gave me the details about the new and improved Stone Way Pagliacci, which has been serving pizza to Wallingford since 1992.
What the story behind the remodel?
The Wallingford store was our smallest shop. We’ve had the opportunity to expand the space a few times, but the timing never felt right. This time when the opportunity arose, we wanted to take advantage of it. The neighborhood is changing and there is a lot more foot traffic. We have more people looking for a dine-in experience and we wanted to be able to provide that.
How has the restaurant changed?
We added dining space for 25-30 people, both indoor and outdoor, and made the kitchen a little bigger. There’s just more space for people to come into the restaurant. There is no longer a tiny pick-up counter. It’s more welcoming.
We’re offering a few different items as well. We now have a slice bar as well as whole pie options. Our dining room is offering beer and wine. And of course there is the gelato.
From reading your pizza boxes, I know that sustainability is valued by Pagliacci. How did that affect your remodel?
We followed all of the same building procedures with the Wallingford restaurant that we did with our Madison Valley one, and that one is in the process of becoming LEED certified. We diverted as much remodeling waste as we could to recycling and reuse, chose natural and healthy building materials, utilized natural lighting, and opted for energy conservation wherever possible.
We also put the solar panels on the roof. They’re not enough to sustain our energy needs, but they help and we really wanted to do the right thing. We are really committed to utilizing green power.
Tell me one of your favorite things about the remodel.
We have a new dining table that’s a communal table. It can be used by a large group or by smaller parties that don’t mind sharing. That table is made out of reclaimed pieces from a ship that look like giant scissors. It’s really cool.
Coincidentally, Wallyreader and architect Joe Hurley emailed us this weekend to let us know that the new building gets a thumbs up. He had this to say:
I just picked up a couple of pies at the new Pagliacci on Stone Way – its dynamite! Really clean and contemporary on the outside, and a very nice eat-in area. A good deal for the neighborhood…[I]t was designed by Alison and Richard of Floisand studios [on 36th Street].
So there you have it – good food, good design and clean energy. How very Wallingford!
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While it may not be traditional Neapolitan organic gluten free farm-raised salumi organic tomatoes etc, I kind of appreciate the sheer predictability and efficiency of Pagliacci, and their good citizenship in remodeling and keeping their buildings interesting.
My delivery gotos are Pagliacci and Amante. Not much in it, but my daughter prefers Pagliacci pepperoni.
Very conveniently located there by the bus stop. Can you get slices to go?
Yes, Rob, they have slices to go! A whole slice bar, so I hear 🙂
Thanks so much for the update and slice bar. See you there!
I guess if you are into gray colorless steel cold buildings and colorblind, this is your place. Why would you want a nice colorful inviting warm atmosphere to attract customers? But I like the pizza!
Finally a good by-the-slice plus beer dine-in replacement for the Mad Pizza that vacated Fremont a few years ago.
Doug – I walk by this building almost every day on my way to the bus stop, park, or 7-11 and I have to say, this design is a vast improvement, and in no way does it feel colorless, steel, or cold. It actually does feel warm & inviting with the big windows and natural wood siding, as well as the nice planters and re-paved sidewalk. When it first opened and they had the outdoor tables out, those were really nice & had red umbrellas if I recall correctly. You can stand on the corner outside and watch them make pizza.
I love the interior, and it’s nice to have a delicious and inexpensive dinner out with kids. We go every week.
GCP, so concrete, steel rusting framework and planters, grey exterior, black interior, is inviting? You must love Goth!
It’s all in the details. Colorful interiors are supposed to make diners quickly finish and move on, but I imagine that depends a lot on the details too. At least this isn’t one of Stone Way’s upcoming out-of-scale monstrosities, just a decent pizza place in a convenient location. Maybe Stone Way will become a pizza capital, the way N 45th is with Japanese restaurants.
The building is angular and modern in it’s form, and the materials used are nice (IMO). Concrete and rust is not for everyone, but it does seem to be in vogue right now and I like it. Great that you can see them tossing pizza in the corner window. I find it very inviting.
@Doug
So what is warm and inviting in your opinion? perhaps something “bungalow”-esque in materials like the rest of Wallingford? I like the new building, it is a vast improvement of what was there. I agree with GPC and TRW, the materials are nice, honest, true to what they are, concrete and metal, nothing faux about it. It provides a nice setting to see the pizza being made and the warm interior. And no, I am not a Goth! not that there is anything wrong with being one. 😉
“Colorful interiors are supposed to make diners quickly finish and move on”
Your kidding me?
I must be talking to all the architects who designed this building. How hard is is to add a splash of color to offset the drab? And Iliveheartoo is presuming it has to be a bungalow-esque, please do not presume with all your bias to someone you do not know, I like the design. I do live here too, for 33 years, and I do have an opinion and it disagrees with yours-so am I wrong? Should I follow in footstep with what you want me to say? Ask 100 people who have happiness in there lives and enjoys color to review this building and come back to me with your findings.
Specifically, it’s when you disagree with me that you are wrong. Trust me, the logic of this proposition is unassailable, so don’t bother.
As long as we’re so fascinated with the critique of this little space – for me, the TV I think I see hanging up there is a gigantic downer.
@Doug, I did not call your opinion wrong. And yes, my opinion is not concurrent with yours. I was just was curious about what you meant as a “nice colorful inviting warm atmosphere”? As you presumed that someone who liked the building loved Goth in your response in #9. The building is hardly Goth, otherwise it would be black. It is not even Steam Punk which is the next evolution of the Goth aesthetic. I never asked you to agree with me. I was just expressing my opinion that I liked the building.
What do you mean by “Ask 100 people who have happiness in there lives and enjoys color to review this building and come back to me with your findings.”? It sounds like you are presuming that I or anyone who finds a muted or in your words drab color palette as fine, have lives that are lacking in happiness. 😉 Whose being presumptive and even defensive now?
…not worth the keystrokes anymore.
I like the building and I like the way Pagliacci have taken the trouble to be environmentally aware. I’m not a huge fan of grey, though – maybe a bright red would liven up those dark months of Seattle winter!