Union Loafers to Start Serving Pizza Four Nights a Week

Kaitlynn Martin

During the summer, Wednesday nights meant "Pizza, Beer & Wine from Six to Nine," at Union Loafers in Botanical Heights. Already known for its freshly baked, old world-style bread, the bakery began serving a hybrid of New York-style and Neapolitan pizza (rather than a wood-burning oven, the pizza was baked in the same one used for the bakery's popular bread).

Now, pizza will no longer be restricted to one day of the week at Loafers. Starting Jan. 4, the bakery will have a daily pizza dinner menu offered Wednesday through Saturday.

"We were sort of dipping our toes in the water this summer with our pizza nights," says Sean Netzer, co-owner of Union Loafers. "We were curious what the response would be, and we definitely got the answer."

The response surprised Sean and the rest of the staff – a great number of people not only came out for pizza, but were willing to wait in line for a taste. Sean hopes that by offering expanded hours, it will be easier for diners to get the pizza they crave.

Wednesday through Saturday service will also bring the opportunity to experiment with rotating pizzas. Currently, Union Loafers has six permanent pizzas: Margherita, marinara, sausage, pepperoni, mushroom and spinach-bacon.

"We are looking forward to experimenting and coming up with some fun specialty pizzas," Netzer says. "Over the summer, we had an heirloom tomato pizza, and recently a meatball pizza. Seasonal ingredients inspire us."

The expanded pizza service was planned to kick off in mid-Fall, but was delayed because of the need to build an additional walk-in fridge for the pizza dough.

Netzer and other staff members are also brainstorming ideas for possible first course items to add to the menu. Nothing is finalized yet, but menu items might include charcuterie, an olive plate and an Italian salad that was served during the summer.

"Our goal has always been to create simple food that we love with bread and sandwiches," Netzer says. "Pizza is a very true extension of that because pizza dough is bread, and fits great under the umbrella of our business."

Pizzas are around 18 inches, and serve two to three diners. Prices range from $16 to $25.

CORRECTION: Union Loafers will serve pizza only during dinner service. It was originally reported that pizza would be served during lunch and dinner.

Union Loafers will serve pizza Wednesday through Thursday from 5:30pm to 9pm, as well as Friday through Saturday from 5:30pm to 10pm.

Union Loafers, 1629 Tower Grove Ave., Botanical Heights, St. Louis, Missouri, 314.833.6111, unionloafers.com