Pizzeria Beddia's last call (for now) is Saturday

Saturday, March 31 will be the last day for Pizzeria Beddia at 115 E. Girard Ave. in Fishtown, as Joe Beddia shuts down at the end of his five-year lease.

Beddia, whose 40-pie-a-night, four-day-a-week schedule guarantees long lines, plans to open a larger pizzeria nearby; it will seat 100 people, opposed to the current zero.

The new parlor won't open until the end of 2018 at the earliest, he told me.

Two bits of info:

The new Beddia location will be on Lee Street, just around the corner from the 1300 block of North Front Street, near Front Street Cafe and Wm. Mulherin's Sons. Also, Beddia's current location will be converted into a slice shop, run by new owners. He is leaving his equipment behind.

Pizzeria Beddia was a thing almost from its opening, and then in 2015, Bon Appetit named it the best pizzeria in America.

Inquirer critic Craig LaBan assessed it: "Pizzeria Beddia's not just hot, it lives up to the hype."

By the way: You can make your own Beddia-style pizza at home. Pick up a copy of his book, Pizza Camp. It shows you how, with some patience and great ingredients, you can step up your game. Beddia says he created and perfected the recipes in a ordinary home oven, not a deck oven or some fancy wood-fired contraption.