New York-Style Pizza in Salt Lake City: Good Pie Pizzeria's Creative Twist on Classic Slices

There's a particular kind of pizza shop that feels like it belongs in every city but somehow remains rare in Salt Lake City—the kind where you can grab a slice at midnight, where the menu reads like a creative experiment, and where "halal options" isn't an afterthought but a genuine commitment. That's what Ali S. has built at Good Pie Pizzeria on State Street, a spot that's quietly redefining what New York-style pizza can look like in Utah.

Walk past 1207 South State Street on a Friday night and you'll see what I mean. The lights are still on well past midnight, the pizza oven's still firing, and there's a steady stream of people grabbing late-night slices or waiting for whole pies. In a city where most pizza places close their doors by 10 PM, Good Pie stays open until 1 AM on weekends—serving everyone from post-shift restaurant workers to college students to families who just want dinner at an unconventional hour.

A New York Approach with Salt Lake City Inclusivity

Good Pie Pizzeria positions itself firmly in the New York-style tradition—thin crust that folds, generous slices, straightforward pizza-making that doesn't overthink things. But what sets them apart in Salt Lake City's competitive pizza landscape is their commitment to halal offerings. Owner Ali S. has made sure that halal chicken, halal beef, and halal beef pepperoni are available across the menu, opening up authentic New York-style pizza to communities that often get overlooked in the Utah food scene.

"Al Hamdulillah, we have halal wings, halal pizzas available," Ali S. explains in response to customer questions. It's a simple statement that represents something bigger—the recognition that great pizza should be accessible to everyone, regardless of dietary requirements or religious observance.

This isn't tokenism. The halal options aren't buried on a separate menu or limited to one or two pizzas. They're integrated throughout Good Pie's offerings, from the wings to the specialty pies to the build-your-own options. It's the kind of thoughtful inclusivity that makes a neighborhood pizza spot actually feel like it belongs to the whole neighborhood.

Good Pie's menu reads like someone took classic New York pizza-making and asked, "What if we got weird with it?" The result is a collection of specialty pizzas that range from traditional to genuinely unexpected.

Take the Mr. Potato Head Pizza, which sounds like it shouldn't work but has become a house favorite. Garlic sauce replaces traditional red sauce, topped with potato wedges, crispy bacon, red peppers, jalapeños, mozzarella, and feta cheese. It's essentially loaded baked potato meets pizza, the kind of indulgent combination that makes perfect sense at midnight.

Or consider the Chicken Tikka Pizza—butter curry sauce, tikka chicken, red onions, bell peppers, red peppers, jalapeños, mozzarella, finished with fresh cilantro and feta. It's a direct nod to South Asian flavors, executed on a New York-style crust. This is where Good Pie's approach becomes clear: they're not trying to be a museum piece of New York pizza tradition. They're using that foundation to build something that reflects Salt Lake City's actual diversity.

The Gyro Pizza takes a similar approach—white sauce, gyro meat, tomatoes, red onions, mozzarella. Mediterranean flavors on an American pizza format, available with halal meat options. It's the kind of cross-cultural menu item that only works when you're genuinely committed to serving a diverse customer base rather than just checking boxes.

For traditionalists, there's still plenty to love. The Good Pie Combo delivers pepperoni, Italian sausage, Canadian bacon, red onions, green peppers, mushrooms, and black olives—everything you want from a loaded New York slice. The Vegetarian Special piles on red onions, green peppers, mushrooms, black olives, tomatoes, and jalapeños with a swirl of sriracha for those who like their vegetables with some heat.

Then there's the Inferno Pizza—marinara, pepperoni, sausage, ham, onions, bell peppers, jalapeños, mozzarella, topped with sriracha, buffalo sauce, and Tabasco. It's the kind of pizza you order when you're either very brave or very drunk, probably both.

Beyond Pizza: The Supporting Cast

Good Pie rounds out the menu with the essentials that make a pizza shop complete. The Garlic Twisted Bread has earned mentions as a house favorite—soft inside, crunchy outside, seasoned with garlic butter and mozzarella cheese, finished with Italian seasoning. It's the kind of side that customers order even when they're not getting pizza.

The wings program is solid, with tossed wings available in various styles. And for those who want the pizza experience in portable form, calzones come "stuffed with melty cheese and savory fillings," as the shop describes them—golden-brown parcels of the same pizza creativity in a different format.

The Late-Night Pizza Culture Good Pie Serves

One of Good Pie's genuine differentiators in the Salt Lake City market is their hours. Open until midnight most nights and 1 AM on Fridays and Saturdays, they're serving a customer base that most pizza shops ignore: the late-night crowd.

This matters more than you might think. Salt Lake City's restaurant scene has grown significantly more sophisticated over the past decade, but late-night food options remain surprisingly limited. Good Pie fills that gap for everyone from restaurant industry workers finishing their shifts to families with unconventional schedules to anyone who just wants a slice at 11:30 PM on a Tuesday.

The late-night positioning also connects to Good Pie's New York-style identity. In New York, pizza isn't just dinner—it's the thing you grab after a concert, after work, after a night out, whenever hunger strikes. Good Pie brings that mentality to State Street, where most food options have long since closed their doors.

The State Street Location: Convenience Meets Accessibility

Located at 1207 South State Street, Good Pie sits in a stretch of Salt Lake City that's neither downtown nor suburb—it's the in-between zone where the city starts transitioning southward. The location offers accessible parking and wheelchair accessibility, making it genuinely convenient for takeout and delivery customers who might struggle with downtown parking or navigation.

The State Street corridor has seen significant development and change over recent years, with new businesses and renovations transforming what was once a somewhat neglected stretch of the city. Good Pie is part of that evolution—a modern pizza shop that reflects the area's growing diversity and changing needs.

How Good Pie Fits into Salt Lake City's Pizza Landscape

Salt Lake City's pizza scene is crowded. You've got The Pie Pizzeria's college-town institution status, Settebello's upscale Neapolitan approach, Esta Pizza's downtown presence, and countless other competitors. Good Pie has carved out its niche by serving communities and time slots that others overlook.

The halal offerings alone set them apart in a market where dietary accommodations often feel like afterthoughts. The late-night hours make them relevant to customers who have limited options. And the creative specialty pizzas—from Mr. Potato Head to Chicken Tikka—show a willingness to experiment that keeps the menu interesting beyond standard pepperoni and cheese.

Good Pie isn't trying to be the fanciest pizza in Salt Lake City or claim some connection to Naples or Brooklyn lineage. They're making made-to-order New York-style pizza with creative toppings, serving it late, and making sure everyone can find something they can actually eat on the menu. That's a more valuable contribution than it might seem.

Planning Your Visit to Good Pie Pizzeria

Address: 1207 S State St, Suite A, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Phone: (385) 205-6556

Hours:

Monday: 12:00 PM - 12:00 AM
Tuesday: 5:00 PM - 11:00 PM
Wednesday-Thursday: 12:00 PM - 12:00 AM
Friday-Saturday: 12:00 PM - 1:00 AM
Sunday: 12:00 PM - 12:00 AM

What to Order: Start with the Garlic Twisted Bread—it's a house favorite for good reason. For pizza, the Mr. Potato Head is the most distinctive offering if you want something you won't find elsewhere. The Chicken Tikka Pizza is worth trying if you appreciate cross-cultural flavor combinations. If you need halal options, know that chicken, beef, and beef pepperoni are all available.

Parking & Accessibility: Street parking is available along State Street, and the restaurant offers wheelchair accessibility and accessible parking near the entrance.

Service Style: Counter service for dine-in, with robust takeout and delivery options through multiple platforms including Slice, Uber Eats, Grubhub, and DoorDash.

Good Pie Pizzeria represents something valuable in Salt Lake City's food landscape—a pizza shop that stays open late, serves communities that often get overlooked, and isn't afraid to get creative with toppings while maintaining solid New York-style fundamentals. It's the kind of place that becomes part of your routine not because it's the fanciest option, but because it's there when you need it, serves food you can actually eat, and delivers exactly what it promises: good pie.

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