PizzaPapalis closes original Greektown location
Mark and Joe Sheena
By Cal Abbo
PizzaPapalis’ original Greektown location will close permanently. Its six other locations, including five in metro Detroit, will remain open and are busier than ever. Mark and Joe Sheena, the co-owners of PizzaPapalis, established the Greektown location 35 years ago.
PizzaPapalis is the go-to pizzeria for Chicago-style and Detroit-style pizza in southeast Michigan. Its record over the last four decades is impeccable and many thousands of Detroiters flock to the brand for its exceptional quality and attention to detail.
In March 2020, like most restaurants, PizzaPapalis closed its dine-in restaurant in Greektown but remained open for carry out orders. This worked just fine for most restaurants, but PizzaPapalis had to pay rent for a massive restaurant with nearly 400 seats that they couldn’t use. In addition, they have a dedicated carry out and delivery location just a couple miles away.
A few months later, PizzaPapalis tried reopening, but the lack of customers dining in and issues retaining staff that the restaurant lost at the beginning of the pandemic meant the reopening was unsustainable. After five weeks, the famed location closed its doors indefinitely in June 2020 – and it would never open again.
“We wanted to ride out this period and put some of our employee resources in the stores that were really busy and were having challenges with staff,” Mark Sheena said. PizzaPapalis, he added, never meant to close for good when it shut down.
“One big issue is there was no lunch trade going on,” he said. “Quicken, who is the largest employer downtown, was completely remote. GM was remote. For the most part, Blue Cross was remote. There were also no events, which we rely on heavily.”
Sheena said the decision to close the restaurant was really difficult. By November 2021, the Sheenas decided they would try to market the restaurant and sell it to an outside company or a PizzaPapalis licensee. Though they got offers, Mark said they never really felt comfortable with any of them. That’s when they decided to close.
Mark knew people would be interested when they announced the restaurant would close. A lot of local media reached out, including the Detroit News, the Detroit Free Press, and local TV stations. What he didn’t expect, however, was the outpouring of love and support from long-time customers and Detroiters who love PizzaPapalis.
“I got detailed stories about first dates, family traditions, and kids growing up with the restaurant,” he said. “We didn’t realize we had that type of impact on those folks in our community. We’re adjusting to life without the Greektown location, but our other restaurants are all operating and doing very well.”
One patron wrote to the Sheenas: “PizzaPapalis is my favorite pizza (Greektown my favorite location) and I have been a patron for over 20 years now. I have many fond memories of your fine establishment – many have become special traditions. I go every year on Father’s Day with my family. I have my company Christmas party there every year in December. I also go regularly with the same group of friends I’ve had since high school. I wanted to say thank you, thank you for creating PizzaPapalis. Thank you for making the best deep-dish pie this area has even known and will ever know. Thank you for the gift you gave the people of Detroit with this fine, fine restaurant. My favorite restaurant.”
In February, the Greektown location auctioned off the nostalgic and old artifacts associated with the restaurant.
The Sheenas told the Detroit News that they are open to another location in Detroit and they are committed to the area. In the future, they could open another restaurant downtown that’s smaller and more suitable to the new restaurant atmosphere following the pandemic.
“I think the day of a massive restaurant with 400 seats is going away,” Mark said. “The model is now closer to 100 seats and a smaller, more manageable space.”