New Navarre pizza restaurant brings New York style slices to Santa Rosa County

With the expansion of a popular Navarre pizza joint comes the opportunity to sit down inside of a restaurant and enjoy a New York style pie right out of the oven, just like it was intended to be enjoyed. 

The owners of the New York Pizza Depot will hold the grand opening of the New York Pizza District on Wednesday, right down the street from the original business. The new restaurant is located at 7552 Navarre Parkway, Suite 14, inside the Harvest Village Plaza. 

Owner Patricia Emond said the Pizza Depot, which served solely as a delivery and carryout business, was due for expansion after experiencing a ton of volume in the past five months during the coronavirus pandemic. 

She's opening the new sit-down spot in the longtime former Vinny R's building. 

"We outgrew our tiny little 1,500-square-foot spot over there," Emond said Tuesday. "Our pizza's best right out of the oven. So the opportunity came up to purchase this building, which is 3,400 (square feet). It was too good to pass up, it already had an oven." 

The recipes will remain intact for every New York style, stone-fired pizza that comes out of the restaurant's new oven. 

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The family-friendly pizza restaurant offers more than 15 specialty pies, a create-your-own pizza option and pizza by the slice, starting at $2.99. The New York Pizza District also serves up calzones, pastas, gyros, salads and traditional starters like cheesy garlic bread, chicken wings, fried ravioli and more. 

"Our most popular toppings are a pepperoni/sausage combo," Emond said. "But we have a new Greek pizza that people are loving, a Kickin' Chicken pizza that people are loving. It's kind of got a spicy Caribbean base, and people love that."

Other specialty pizzas include the Bella's BBQ, the Margherita, Patti's Pesto, the Buffalo Chicken, the NYPD Club and the stuffed pizza, which is comprised of two layers of homemade dough, filled with mozzarella cheese, two toppings and marinara on the side. Loads of craft beer and wine options are on deck to wash it down. 

The New York Pizza District has been in the soft opening stage for close to two months and is now operating at 50% capacity. Its hours of operation are 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday. It is closed on Sundays. 

Outside of the building, there's a gaming area complete with Giant Jenga, Connect 4 and more. 

If you dine in and order a family-style pasta or pizza during Wednesday's grand opening, your table will receive a free bottle of wine. Also, between Wednesday and Aug. 25, you can become eligible to enter into the restaurant's $100 gift card raffle by making any purchase. 

Jake Newby can be reached at jnewby@pnj.com or 850-435-8538.