When\u00a0Pizza Verde closed its doors earlier this year, it\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0just the vegan community that mourned \u2014 it was everyone who knew a perfect slice when they tasted one. After all, the cozy, inventive restaurant, which opened four years ago at 5716 Locke Ave., on the city\u2019s West Side, offered pizzas of such\u00a0great quality, in\u00a0seemingly endlessly\u00a0imaginative flavors, the \u201cvegan\u201d label began to fade, leaving only what mattered most:\u00a0truly great\u00a0pizza.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For husband-wife owners Jennifer and Landon Cabarubio, the decision to close was gut-wrenching but, at the time, unavoidable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe started off the year solid,\u201d she recalls. \u201cBut after mid-January, the economy started getting wild \u2014 tariffs, layoffs \u2014 it was clear there was a correlation to the drop in sales. People are struggling, and we understand that. We tried to ride it out, but it just kept getting worse.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Pizza Verde has always run on slim margins. \u201cThis is a passion project,\u201d Jennifer says. \u201cNot something we do because it\u2019s making tons of money.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
So, when conversations about closing began, Jennifer thought that was the end of the story. But the community had other plans.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In what felt like a Hail Mary, she took to social media, asking if anyone would be interested in investing to keep Pizza Verde alive.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The response, she says, was overwhelming. \u201cNinety-nine percent of the people who reached out were customers,\u201d she says. \u201cLandon and I were just so humbled and touched.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Within weeks, a half dozen individuals had\u00a0signed on\u00a0as partial owners. \u201cIt\u2019s wild,\u201d she says, laughing. \u201cWe have people involved who are all over DFW.\u00a0One\u2019s\u00a0in real estate, another works in social media.\u00a0They\u2019re\u00a0all people who genuinely love what we do.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
With new backers in\u00a0tow, the restaurant recently reopened after a short hiatus, now with a slightly reimagined model. During the week, the kitchen buzzes with a frozen wholesale operation,\u00a0shipping out\u00a0Pizza Verde\u2019s signature pies to retail partners like Reverie Bakeshop in Richardson. From Thursday to Sunday, the restaurant opens its doors again to the public.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The new lease on life means\u00a0new menu\u00a0items. Among them is a fritto misto, a plant-based play on the traditional Italian fried seafood dish. A new house salad comes with leafy kale and a\u00a0housemade\u00a0Italian vinaigrette. For pizzas, Jennifer recommends the Calabrese, topped with plant-based meatballs, chili oil, garlic,\u00a0calabrian\u00a0chilis and vegan honey \u2014 the perfect blend of sweet, salty, and spicy.\u00a0A good way\u00a0to\u00a0finish:\u00a0cashew-based cheesecake.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
To drink, there\u2019s beer and wine, along with\u00a0housemade\u00a0rosemary lemonade. Jennifer says they roast the lemons to add a little extra flavor and make\u00a0rosemary simple\u00a0syrup using their own rosemary\u00a0bush.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
In November,\u00a0they\u2019ll\u00a0launch\u00a0a wine\u00a0and cheese night.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
For the\u00a0Cabarubios, the restaurant\u2019s revival has been both humbling and inspiring. \u201cAt some point, I had to put my control freak aside and not see investors as a bad move,\u201d Jennifer says. \u201cThe people who are backing us kept telling me how much Pizza Verde meant to them. These\u00a0aren\u2019t\u00a0people who are looking to make a\u00a0buck. These are people who believe in us and what\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0doing, and I\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0tell you how moved we are by that.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n