Foldable favorite Supino Pizzeria readies New Center location

The first few weeks of 2021 haven't been as dazzling as some may have hoped, but there is some good news: Detroit is getting more Supino pizza. 

A favorite in Eastern Market since 2008, Supino Pizzeria serves "East Coast style" pizza, with a thin crust, tangy red sauce (or white, if you prefer) and high-quality ingredients. In a city that's known for thick, square pizza, Supino's thin and delightfully floppy slices stand out. 

Soon, Detroiters will be able to get more of it when founder Dave Mancini opens a second location.

Also named Supino Pizzeria, it's set to debut as soon as next month on Woodward in New Center. Mancini is excited about joining a cluster of new and established businesses on that strip including the Kitchen by Cooking by Que, Yum Village, Textures by Nefertiti and the soon-to-open Baobab Fare. 

"It's exciting to have cool neighbors. here's a school down the street, there's some residential, so it's a very different neighborhood than what I have here," he said speaking this week from Eastern Market after a morning of making dough.

"And I'm telling you right now, Baobab Fare is going to blow everybody away," he adds. "It's so good." 

Once open, the Supino Pizzeria in New Center will have the pizza that so many have come to love, plus a full bar and some Italian dishes, such as ricotta gnocchi with kale pesto and braised pork shoulder with red sauce. 

Some of the entrees will be familiar to those who visited Mancini's short-lived Italian restaurant La Rondinella, which became the dining area for Eastern Market's Supino (back when dining rooms were a thing). 

"We're going to try some different things, but it's going to be mostly about the pizza. It's going to be a pizzeria first," said the hands-on owner. Mancini has done his research on both the East Coast and in Italy to create Supino's flavor, and has worked hard on the recipe for his dough, which he mixes himself. 

"Your pizza is never going to be any better than your dough," he said. "It doesn't matter what you put on it." 

As I've written many times in the past 11 months: opening a restaurant isn't easy, and opening one in a pandemic is even harder. Mancini is hoping that if all goes well the New Center spot could be ready to open by February.

Like the Eastern Market location, it will have social distancing safety protocols in place, like Plexiglas and online ordering, something he never wanted to do before but realized it's actually awesome. The New Center Supino may also have an opportunity for some outdoor dining.

Mancini, who named his pizzeria after his father's home village in Italy, said he's had a few people ask if this new location means he'll eventually close his Eastern Market location. That's not the plan.

"We're staying here for the foreseeable future, I don't have the intention to leave. I love being in the market," he said. 

Supino Pizzeria is open now for carryout in Eastern Market, 2457 Russell in Detroit. Call (313) 567-7879 or order online at supinopizzeria.com. Supino Pizzeria in New Center will open as soon as next month at 6519 Woodward in Detroit. 

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mbaetens@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @melodybaetens