Food News
The owners of Pi Pizzeria are retiring after 25 years, putting the beloved Nantucket restaurant, its commercial property, and staff housing on the market.
Pi Pizzeria Courtesy of Courtney Cotter of J. Pepper Frazier Real Estate
After a 25-year run, the popular Nantucket restaurant, Pi Pizzeria, is for sale for $12.5 million, as first reported in The Nantucket Current.
“The Whole Pi” — the restaurant at 11 West Creek Road and the staff housing quarters at 41.5 Nobadeer Farm Road — is for sale as owners Evan and Maria Marley are ready to retire.
Pi Pizzeria’s Evan and Maria Marley. – Courtesy of Courtney Cotter of J. Pepper Frazier Real Estate
“We’ve thoroughly enjoyed the time we’ve spent building the brand,” said Evan in an interview with Boston.com. It truly has been a “dream.”
The restaurant consists of a 46-seat dining room and bar with a separate takeout entrance that also serves as a small Italian market. The commercial property also includes a wood fire pizza oven, storage and office space in the basement, and a 20-spot parking lot. The staff house, which is common for Nantucket businesses to have, has three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and six parking spaces.
“We’re interested in a buyer who wants to move Pi forward,” and possibly expand to more locations, said Maria. Overall, “we’re looking for a buyer that will carry on the tradition of what we’ve created,” Evan said.
“We’re looking for a buyer that will carry on the tradition of what we’ve created,” Evan Marley said. – Courtney Cotter of J. Pepper Frazier Real Estate
The Marleys have no plan to close the restaurant ahead of the sale. Pi Pizzeria is even hiring for three open positions, according to posts made to the restaurant’s Instagram Thursday.
Whenever they find a buyer, Evan plans to stay on temporarily as a way to “pass the torch” and ensure a smooth transition in ownership, he said.
Pi Pizzeria has “been an island institution for a long time,” Courtney Cotter, the Marley’s realtor, told The Current.
The Marleys, who have worked in the restaurant industry for their entire lives, originally opened the Neapolitan-style pizzeria in 2001 in the back of the cheese and wine shop, Fahey & Fromagerie, before moving to its current location in 2006.
On their first day at the new location, the Marleys had to close an hour and a half after opening due to how “slammed” they were, which Maria considers to be her favorite memory from their 25 years in business.
Evan said it was “great to start something” of our own and “run it really well” for 25 years.
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