The popular Jacksonville Beach pizzeria, Biggie's Pizza, opened its second location in Five Points this week -- and it's already proving that its New York-style pizzas are a hit within the community.
"We opened up Monday and already at 4 o'clock, every table was full," said owner Gazmir Broci, describing the nearly 2,000-square-foot location. On Tuesday, he added that they had to close early because they ran out of dough. He expected a rush again on Wednesday.
"I never knew that everyone loves us so much," he said. "It's crazy, from another side of town."
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The new Biggie's opened at the former Kostas Pizza Italian restaurant at 1053 Park St. With walls plastered with grafitti-styled art, the space was redesigned to make you feel like you're in New York eating traditional New York pies, he said.
"Everything was modified to bring you to New York," he described. "When you walk into Biggie's, you feel like you're in New York. You have a good vibe. You have good pizza. You can't go anything wrong with that."
(Scroll through below to see inside the new Biggie's!)
Broci said the owner of Kostas, Kostas "Gus" Margaritis reached out to him directly, asking if he'd like to take over the space that was vacant for about two years.
"[He's a] big fan of the pizza," Broci smiled.
Margaritis closed his business in 2017 after more than four decades due to health problems. He kept it vacant until he found a pizza place he believed would bring delicious food to Five Points, Broci explained.
"It's big shoes to fill, I mean 42 years, not that many people last that long in this business," Broci said. "... We're hoping to fill his shoes for the many years to come. Spread the love, just like he did."
Broci said Margaritis also owns the space next door, formerly Beads Here Now. He said come February, he plans to start fixing up the vacant space and expand Biggie's into an even larger space. He hopes it will be open by Summer 2020.
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The Food
The first Biggie's location in Jacksonville Beach opened in April 2016 and quickly became famous for serving some of the largest New York-style pizza slices in town.
The new Five Points location is currently serving a limited menu: $4 slices. Broci plans to bring the full menu in January, which will debut new vegan options.
"Right now, we are in the training process... [but] our goal is to roll out some good pizza and try to make everybody happy the best we can," Broci said.
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Some of its more popular dishes include standard cheese and pepperoni slices, as well as the gourmet pies like the Brooklyn Deluxee, made with cheese, pepperoni, beef, sausage, green peppers, onions, black olives, mushrooms and olive oil.
Biggie's also serves calzones, salads, heroes and other appetizers.
Biggie's Pizza will also have limited hours from 4 p.m. to midnight, with the goal of opening full time to 11 a.m. to midnight on Sundays to Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
Melissa Guz is the digital content manager at First Coast News and creator of First Coast Foodies. Keep up with the latest food happenings on our First Coast Foodies Facebook page and Instagram page.
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