They say the problem isn’t too many pizza joints—it’s not enough good ones. If experience, talent, and pedigree count for anything, Mark Lucas’ latest project, Humble Pie Pizza Tavern (1059 S. Big Bend), might help tip the scales.
Slated to open this fall in the Richmond Heights space that previously housed Del Pietro’s, Riverbend, and Harvest (a building shared with Hank’s Cheesecakes), the new spot marks a revival of the short-lived pizzeria that Lucas launched in Ladue in 2017.
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The fast-casual, 70-seater will also feature a soda fountain and a lunch and dinner menu that’s different from Fozzie’s Sandwich Emporium, his nearby eatery. Here’s what to expect.
The Concept
The original Humble Pie was “very ambitious—too ambitious,” says Lucas. The slogan was “Small-Batch Organic Doughs,” and Lucas went to painstaking lengths to source organic flours not easily found in this part of the country. He also created dough recipes and processes that “were not the fastest, easiest, or cheapest,” as he told SLM at the time.
Eight years later, the new version will be far less complicated. “I want and need to keep it simple,” Lucas says. “The original was a massive project with, like, 20 specialty pizzas and 13 pizza sauces. The last thing I want is to do in these crazy times is do something complicated.
“The quality of the ingredients will not change,” he adds, “but the number of them will.”
Lucas plans to convert the street-facing front room into an old-school ice cream counter and soda fountain offering classic sodas and trendy “swigs”—a nod to the popular “dirty soda” concept that started in St. George, Utah. The drinks mix traditional soda brands with flavored syrups and creams. “My kids, 15 and 13, are all over the trend,” Lucas says. “The soda fountain will be its own little thing, with my kids as menu consultants.”
Another highlight will be Dole brand soft-serve, best known for its pineapple version—nicknamed “Dole Whip”—popularized at Disney resorts in the ’80s. Now available in flavors including strawberry, mango, orange, lemon, watermelon, raspberry, and lime, the frozen treat is vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, and fat-free. It will be served in cups, cones, with toppings, and blended into drinks. Lucas likes that it’s different and isn’t common in St. Louis. “It’s vibrant and fresh—I love the stuff,” Lucas says. “I wanted to do this right after trying it at Disney decades ago—but hey, I got sidetracked.”
Guests dining at the main restaurant can also order off the soda fountain menu. Behind the soda bar, a new “adult” bar—the most significant addition—will face the dining room and serve a simple lineup of cocktails, wine, and beer (with six on tap, as well as bottles).
The dining room will follow a fast-casual format, with guests ordering at the counter before grabbing a table or booth, another new addition. “There’s an existing side room that will be used either as a game area or a private room,” Lucas says, who views the dine-in component as “family-friendly but not family-only.”
On the flip side, online orders for pickup and delivery are expected to be a major focus. “When I opened Fozzie’s, delivery made up a third of our business,” Lucas says. “At Humble Pie, I expect that number to be two-thirds.”
The Menu
Guests can expect two sizes of pizza in two styles: a light, focaccia-based, deep-dish pizza (with the crust proofed in the pan) and a St. Louis–style thin-crust pizza that Lucas describes as “Imo’s-esque without the Provel.” A Chicago-style pie may also make an appearance one night a week. All pizzas will be cooked in a gas-powered, conveyor-style TechnoPizza oven, which helps ensure consistent quality by heating the top and bottom at different temperatures.
The menu will also feature a dozen quick-fire appetizers—think satays, kabobs, calamari, and meatballs—ideal for snacking while waiting on pizza. Rounding out the menu are salads, a few burgers, and five sandwiches, with some served on pizza bread, “which is like a giant, split-open bread stick,” Lucas says, “and sets it apart from what we do at Fozzie’s.”
Duck fat fries, a longtime Lucas favorite, will likely be a standout item. “In Belgium, we’d core the potatoes with an apple corer, poach them in duck fat, hold them, then cut and fry them to order—again in duck fat,” he says. “If I can make that work here, duck confit might show up as a pizza topping, too.”
The Backstory
In 2010, chef Mark Lucas opened Fozzie’s Sandwich Emporium (1170 S. Big Bend) in Richmond Heights, naming it after his then-girlfriend’s cat. The menu included 22 sandwiches, seven salads, and three burgers, including Da Dip (house-cooked roast beef, pork loin, or both with “debris” onions, swiss cheese, and a creamy horseradish sauce), Just Beet It Salad (with spinach, salt roasted beets, roasted peaches, walnuts, blue cheese), and a version of the famed Juicy Lucy burger (a griddled half pound burger stuffed with cheese and caramelized onions), all of which remain on the menu.
In 2012, Lucas made Food & Wine’s list of “Sandwich Chefs to Know.” Two years later, the magazine proclaimed Fozzie’s one of the “Best Sandwich Shops in the U.S.” (A subsequent location later opened in Des Peres but has since closed.)
In 2017, Lucas opened Humble Pie (9783 Clayton) in the former Red-L Pizza location in Ladue. The original space (now home to Ladue Taco) was tucked along a cobblestone gangway, so finding it was tricky. That hidden, off-the-beaten-path vibe reminded Lucas of the tiny pizza joints in New York and gave the place an insider feel.
He named it Humble Pie to pay tribute to the different styles of pizza. “They’re all so primal and basic,” he told SLM in 2017. “It’s difficult to make unique pizza.” But Lucas pulled it off, creating an elaborate menu with nearly two dozen specialty pizzas and more than a dozen pizza sauces.
Ultimately, it wasn’t the quirky location, the food, or business that ended the run—it was the lack of space. “It just wasn’t big enough to support the menu we wanted,” Lucas reflects. “We either had to simplify or close and try something else.” Humble Pie shut its doors after six months in 2017.
That “something else” took a while, but Lucas has finally returned with another slice.
