For a certain segment of pizza-obsessed Houstonians, Austin’s Via 313 has been looked on with envy. The Detroit-style pizzeria has earned wide acclaim for its deep-dish, rectangular pies, including recognition from Food & Wine and the Food Network.
Houstonians will soon get to experience the restaurant without making a three-hour drive. Via 313 will open its first Houston-area location in the Memorial City area on Friday, March 8 with a ribbon cutting at 10:45 am (10201 Katy Fwy.). It will be the restaurant’s 13th Texas location and 18th overall, joining outposts in Colorado and Utah.
Courtesy of Via 313
Via 313 will open in Houston next month.
Founded in 2011 as a food trailer by brothers Brandon and Zane Hunt, the restaurant partnered with venture capital firm Savory Fund to grow beyond Austin. Memorial City will be the first of at least five Houston-area locations that include the Heights, Webster, Pearland, and Cypress.
The Detroit natives tell CultureMap that they opened Via 313 when they discovered that Austin didn’t have any pizza that reminded them of the places they grew up patronizing. They developed a recipe in their home kitchen that remains at the heart of the restaurant.
“Our version of that style of pizza is a culmination of a lot of different places we ate growing up,” Zane says. “We took the things we liked most about each place and brought it all together. It’s always been our version of what we liked the best. We hoped it would resonate with people, and it has.”
Baked in traditional steel pans, the pies are “cheesed to the edge” (per Brandon) and have sauce added after the bake. “Ends up being really, really good cheese bread with a light sauce on top,” Brandon says.
The menu also includes a Midwest-style, thin crust, bar pie as well as salads, appetizers, and desserts. They’re paired with beer, wine, cocktails, or two sodas that are staples in Detroit — Faygo and Vernor’s Ginger ale.
While partnering with Savory Fund hasn’t changed the food, it has improved the restaurant’s design. Each location has different items that reference pizzerias in Southeast Michigan where the brothers worked or dined.
“We worked with a designer here in Austin who helped us focus to get where we want to be from a design aesthetic and a feel. Houston gets the newest version of those. It’s progressed forward,” Zane says.
“It’s high energy. It’s not rushed. We want the world to slow down for you. We want to be part of the neighborhood. It’s important we blend in and be part of the community,” Brandon adds.
The brothers know Houston well. As Detroit Tigers fans, they made regular trips to Houston from Austin to watch their team play the Astros. Of course, those visits also included eating some pizza. They found a lot of places they liked.
“Obviously, Star Pizza, a classic. We’ve had some good nights sitting on a curb eating Fuzzy’s Pizza,” Brandon says. “Pizaro’s. Most recently, Gold Tooth Tony’s and Nonno’s. I feel like the pizza community is pretty tight. We’re all here to lift each other up. We’re excited to add on to the already great pizza scene.”
