Coals Pizza (website, instagram, twitter) is scheduled to open today at 5 pm. Coals is located at 114 Preble Street in the former Portland & Rochester space. This is Coal’s only location outside of New York. They specialize in grilled pizza. You can see their full menu online.
A 2015 review in the New York Times sums up Coals this way,
The atmosphere is as quirky and appealing as the food, with a Catskills-meets-Brooklyn vibe from mounted deer antlers and painted country scenes. Sit there long enough and you’ll become aware of the rhythmic sound of the pizza cutter, a guy who wields a huge half moon of a knife that he rocks across the pies as they come out, dividing them into three- or four-bite squares. It’s a kind of siren call — one that should be heeded by all pizza lovers.
Coals was founded in 2004 in the Bronx. Their first two locations are located in Bronxville and Port Chester.
Back Story: Coals owner Billy Etzel was born and raised in NYC, but he’s been visiting Maine since age 3 and always felt connected to the state. Four years ago Etzel’s son began doing some family genealogical research. Etzel himself is adopted, and through the research online they discovered that his biological family was trying to get in contact with him. As it turns out his biological family is from Kittery, just 30 minutes away from where Etzel owns a cabin. It’s as a result of this connection to Maine to Etzel decided to open his latest branch of Coals Pizza here in Portland.
What are your tap beers today? Do you have Russian River – Pliny the elder?
“Coals was founded in 2004 in the Bronx. Their first two locations are located in Bronxville and Port Chester.”
Can you clarify this? Bronxville is not in the Bronx. (Just as South Portland is not in Portland.) Or was their LLC located in the Bronx?
There original location was in the Bronx. It is no longer.
The two shops in NY are in the locations I mentioned.