If you have ever had a late night in Halifax, there is a good chance it came to an end at the place locals call “Pizza Corner.”
For years, the four corners at the intersection of Blowers and Grafton streets were home to three pizza joints and a church.
While the names on the signs would occasionally change, those who were exiting the local bars and pubs could always count on visiting places such as Sicilian Pizza or European Foods or Pizza Sisters for a slice or a donair to fill their bellies.
Many have recently been joking on social media about a potential name change for the corners as all that remained was Sicilian Pizza, but it will not be the only spot for late night eats soon enough.
Those who live in Dartmouth might be familiar with the new place in the old Pizza Sisters space as Atithi Indian Restaurant will soon occupy the space.
The Chawda family first started offering Tiffin service for foreign students before opening up a restaurant in Bedford back in 2021.
“So our original location opened up in 2021, in Bedford, and we started from there while doing some of the meal service for local students and international students,” Rajveer Chawda told Global News.
“We started from there and then we just opened up a restaurant in Bedford.”
He said that restaurant started doing some quick bites for people before it expanded to offering curries and other options on the menu.
In Halifax, it will be offering similar items, although given the location is at Pizza Corner, it will look to offer people what they want.
“We just had the opportunity to take over this place, and now we will be serving the same food from that and adding pizza as well,” he said.
“We will try to keep the spirit alive and make sure we serve good pizza as well.”
Chawda said initial plans are to be open only for daytime service until the business finds its footing and will eventually expand to offer late-night service on weekends.
“Pizza is really good, good food at late night but we will just try to add some new flavours to it,” he said.
Some regulars in the area are impressed that while the restaurant is Indian, it will attempt to respect the legacy.
“I’ve never known an Indian place to serve pizza, but if it’s in honour of Pizza Corner, then fair enough. Respect the legacy,” Reign Sherrington said.
“Pizza Corner is iconic to Halifax. It’s like an axiom of where you’re at and where you’re at in relevance to the rest of the city.”
Ryan Merlin, 27, says he grabs a slice in the area on a regular basis and has had some great times at Pizza Corner.
“I’ve had some pretty awesome memories down here, just like coming back from the bar and obviously having a lot of fun,” he said.
“Getting here and just shoving pizza down your face and just sitting down on the sidewalk eating poutine with your friends — I don’t think there’s really anything better than that.”