Home away from home at DaVinci’s Pizza

Via DaVinci s Pizza Facebook This story was produced as part of a collaboration with the Savannah College of Art and Design SCAD For our third collaboration with SCAD we once again worked with students in Paige Gray s spring semester writing class this time focusing on the subject of food With the help of Rough Draft editors Collin Kelley Beth McKibben and Sammie Purcell the students produced stories ranging from the personal to hard-hitting issues like food insecurity It was my first day of college in a new city Moving from Atenas Alajuela Costa Rica to Atlanta was like landing on an alien planet After introducing myself to various other SCAD students I realized everyone felt as awkward as I did They were also just as hungry Lucky for us DaVinci s Pizzeria was around the corner from campus Inside the local pizza chain the atmosphere was electric sports were on laughter provided a soundtrack and the fresh smell of dough wafted through the air That s when I knew I d be all right It was where we spent our Saturday nights went on dates watched the Super Bowl and felt at home across the country And I wasn t alone in feeling that way So when the Midtown location closed on Oct it meant more than losing good food close to campus You can t just hear about it you had to be there mentioned SCAD apprentice Ian Rawa Man I loved that place but now seeing it empty it s like losing a family member Rawa s favorite dish was the calzone The cheese would do that thing you see in commercials the cheese pull where it extends and it would melt in your mouth DaVinci s felt integral to Atlanta s college way of life With for a day s worth of food and a Midtown location between Georgia Tech and SCAD on West Peachtree Street it was invariably full of students In there were four DaVinci s pizzerias around the city As of only the Smyrna location remains Whenever we re discussing what to have for dinner one of us inevitably begins to suggest DaVinci s before remembering it s closed commented Georgia Tech pupil Sofia Hampton All the other places sound worse after that Hampton raved about the supreme pizza They put so multiple toppings on it you couldn t even see the crust and that crunch Oh my god I would order the supreme pizza too The toppings were so fresh I was convinced they grew them in the back Affordable food is hard to find in Midtown these days so a multitude of students are forced to choose between fast food and meals they cannot afford when they dine out But while we may never know why DaVinci closed it was not as simple as a lack of sales but rather a combination of factors On top of what is likely a very steep monthly rent for a store in Midtown there are maintenance fees insurance fees utilities taxes and so on explained Atlanta financial advisor Hailey Illes Illes noted that restaurants have specific costs associated with menu ingredients Let s say you had a mediocre sales week Illes explained imagining a scenario where you bought your usual worth of food but only used That s of your budget straight in the trash In addition eating out is one of the first luxuries people give up when the business sector is down DaVinci s closing is not an isolated occurrence In West Midtown more than a dozen restaurants closed in the last two years including Humble Pie West Egg Cafe and Postino A factor commonly cited for these closures high rents When I contacted the leasing agent listed for DaVinci s Midtown property to ask about their relationship with the restaurant they declined to comment Reminders of the pizzeria remain on West Peachtree the sign still hangs over the door DaVinci s atmosphere made anyone feel welcome The closure of DaVinci s in Midtown felt like losing a tradition but the restaurant didn t totally disappear The Smyrna location is just as popular with college students Numerous devoted customers including myself brave the rush hour traffic for a taste because nothing s better than DaVinci s The post Home away from home at DaVinci s Pizza appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta