Industry Pizza & Slice Shop, a tiny, primarily take-out joint, just may be the best new eatery to open this summer. There’s scant more than eight bar stools at an eat-in counter, and the area where you order and grab a craft beer from a cooler seems barely more than 400 square feet in total. But because it’s the sophomore effort from the team behind the acclaimed LowBrow, it is somewhere to take seriously—especially if you’re on Pine Ridge Road in Naples and you’re jonesing for a near-perfect taste of the pizza pantheon of the Motor City, whose claim to fame is deep-dish, square-shaped pies.
The ones here are elevated with artisanal ingredients, such as chili-fennel sausage, ricotta, broccoli rabe and spiced honey, and the roster changes daily (with a few of LowBrow’s winsome combos making an appearance).
But you don’t even need to try a “Trippin’ Balls” (scratch meatballs, banana peppers, Kalamatas and aged mozzarella) when the “cheese square,” how Detroiters classically take their 'za, is as good as it is. With a sweet house-made tomato sauce poured on top and a mix of three cheeses, this version was a stairway to heaven. The crust was so crisp (loved the subtle char), and the dough was so thick and focaccia-like; it was great fun using a steak knife to eat it. For the New Yorkers out there, it was what you’d call a Sicilian. They also sell a version of New York pies (“Big Wheels”), which are not the cheesy foldable mess we often expect, but that’s not to say they’re not great in their own right. They’re closer to a Grimaldi’s but not as pliable and with less cheese—probably to make room for those unbeatable toppings.
To plan a visit: Industry Pizza & Slice Shop 2075 Pine Ridge Road, Naples (239) 431-6881 industrypizza.com
