Pupatella Announces Plans to Expand, Add Table Service

Pupatella only just transformed from food cart to restaurant a couple of years ago and now the tiny Neapolitan-style gem has plans to double its space with an expansion into the old Union Halal Butcher space next door. Owner and pizzaiolo Enzo Algarme explains that Pupatella has been working on the expansion for the past month — and looks like it'll bring a lot of changes. You know, such as waiter service and breakfast.

For starters, the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana-certified pizzeria will switch to waiter service, having announced on Facebook that it is now hiring servers, hosts and bartenders. While Pupatella's legion of fans have often described its counter ordering and bus-your-own-table service as one of its charms, the wait for Pupatella's pizza can get long and the hope in switching to waiter service is that it will cut down on the annoyance from customers who don't find the current system all that charming.

But there are other changes afoot, too: Pupatella plans to expand its menu with pastas, more beer on tap and a greater wine selection. They're going to put a focus on sandwiches at lunchtime and, oh yes, there will be breakfast. Algarme hopes to roll out a breakfast menu of doughnuts, croissants and a bread program by the end of August.

For now, the expanded space is actually already open to the public as of last night, although Algarme cautions that they don't have air conditioning on that side yet as construction is still underway. But tables and chairs are already set up and they hope to have it complete next week with about 70 seats in total.

· Pupatella [Official Site]
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