A Chicago Native Switches from Fine Dining in Queen Anne to Fine Pizza in South Seattle

WORTH A DRIVE. South Town Pies pastrami pizza with Gruyere fondue and dill pickles.

This article appears in print in the October 2018 issue. Click here for a free subscription.

Sam Crannell, chef and owner of Queen Annes notable but now shuttered LloydMartin, says that when he moved to Seattle from Chicago in 2005, he couldnt find a decent slice of pizza here. More than a decade later, when business partners approached him about opening a pizza place, he followed the advice of the adage, If you want something done right, do it yourself.

Although Crannell admits there are many awesome slices available in Seattle now he sings the praises of Delancey, for example he and partners Rob Coburn and Paige Crandall (both of Fremonts El Camino) opened South Town Pie in Seattles South Park neighborhood in May.

Crannell ended his six-year run at LloydMartin after New Years Eve service. The two concepts couldnt be more different. One was a petite, popular date spot where regulars loved the inventive pastas and perfect sauces. The other is a purposely low-brow, family-friendly restaurant where you can get a decent cocktail and a slice of pepperoni pizza. He meant for the two restaurants to coexist, not for LloydMartin to close to make room for South Town.

But, coincidentally, It just came to a point where the whole formula a kitchen that was too small, rising rents, higher taxes, the increasing desire not to work 70 hours a week, etc. just didnt work anymore, he says.

Despite Crannells Chicago roots, South Towns pie is not deep-dish style, though he says South Park does remind him, in the best way, of the Windy Citys grittier parts. Its not even fancy.

Im kind of like a poser, Crannell offers. Im a French/American/Italian kind of improv chef. I love fine ingredients, but Im making something really down home.

TRADING SPACES. Chef Sam Crannell closed LloydMartin on December 31 and opened his new pizza place in May.

His diners benefit from Crannells focus on details. The crust, made with flour fromSmalls Family Farm in Walla Walla, is very thin and has a good chew, with toppings reaching nearly to the edge. His 18-inch signature pizzas are a mix of basic classics like pepperoni or sausage ($3.75 per slice, $23 for a whole pizza) and impressively executed originals like the pastrami pizza ($26) with dill pickles, Gruyere fondue and a crust dusted in a garlic, onion and seed mixture meant to mimic an everything bagel. (I daresay that pastrami pie is worth the drive to South Park, in rush hour, from the north end of the city.) He even offers a daily unicorn pie ($4.50 per slice), topped with whatever pops into his mind.

Crannell says hes happy for the moment to be the guy in front of the pizza oven, but he also says the time will come when he wont be involved in day-to-day operations at South Town Pie. He admits hes not the sort who can sit still for too long and hes already begun research and development on a new project. He jokes: Ive got too much love to give.
The proof is in the pizza.

South Park. 8611 14th Ave. S; 206.535.7166

A version of this story appears in the October issue of SEATTLE magazine.