Came back here on a night where the owner Justin Piazza was putting part of their profits to work for their upcoming re-branding. They are changing their name from La Piazza Locale to La Piazza PHX effective 9/1/2014. Apparently Chipotle (yes, that Chipotle) is opening a chain of pizzerias called Pizzeria Locale nationwide and sued Justin to change his restaurant's name. Not wanting to go broke fighting a corporate titan, they instead opted to re-brand. While La Piazza isn't my favorite of the Downtown Phoenix pizzerias, its still great and more than worthy of support.\n\nThe place was much busier than my last visit. This despite the fact that there were no sporting events or concerts this night. Justin himself was manning the pizza oven and the restaurant was pretty close to full when I arrived. I just came by myself this time. They have a tiny bar area near the oven, but I opted for a small corner table instead. This time I went with arguably their best and most popular pie, the Italian Stallion. Four meats (sausage, pepperoni, cotto, and sopressata) on top of house-made mozzarella and San Marzano tomato sauce. Its a pretty manly dish. I've had this pizza before at their location in Glendale, but tonight it was especially awesome. The meats were cooked perfectly and the crust was spot on. This is the first time Justin himself has made me a pie so I'm guessing that made the difference.\n\nLooking around the restaurant its pretty clear there are quite a few regulars as Justin and his wife were hugging and shaking hands with a lot of the patrons. The wait staff is super friendly and laid back just as they were last time I was here. The setup here is still a little bit quirky (particularly the bar area), but it seems like they're coming into their own. I would still rank this 4th on my list of Downtown Phoenix Pizzerias (behind Pomo, Cibo, and Bianco), but the product and the pace of business is definitely improving. Their name may change, but as long as Justin is making the pies, my enthusiasm for his pizzerias will remain the same.
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