“I thought, like, ‘Oh my God, this would be a no-brainer [with] a bunch of drunk people around.’ Back in the day, [lower Greenville] was nothing but nightclubs,” he said. “I was already a night owl, so it made sense to do something that was late night.”
Mandell opened the first Greenville Avenue Pizza Company when he was age 24. The eatery, also known as GAPCo, has continued expansion across the Dallas area since then. Mandell and his wife opened a location on Peavy Road in 2017 then opened the company’s first full-service restaurant in Richardson last year.
GAPCo offers made-from-scratch pizza sold as whole pies or by the slice. Its other menu items include wings, pastas and salads. GAPCo is open until 1 a.m. or 3 a.m. depending on the night.
Mandell said he focuses on branding and quality at GAPCo. He wants GAPCo to be a “cool, hip” pizza restaurant rather than a hole-in-the-wall eatery.
As part of Mandell’s commitment to quality, GAPCo’s “pizza slayers” master the art of making pizza. They undergo a minimum three-month training before earning their signature holster equipped with a pizza cutter and dough knife. “I want them to look cool, and I want them to be celebrated,” he said. “The creation of the slayer became that—a way to really show gratification back to them and celebrate them for their hard work.”GAPCo offers more than a dozen pizza flavors. Mandell said some best sellers are Butcher’s Revenge and Mucho Meato. However, he said his personal favorite, the Supreme, is also popular. It is topped with pepperoni, ham, green peppers, onions, mushrooms, bacon and olives. Mandell said he likes to add jalapenos to make it spicy. Mandell’s goal for GAPCo is to continue expansion. He expects to increase the space at the Greenville Avenue location. Mandell said he is also interested in opening a GAPCo in the often-requested cities of Plano and Rockwall, along with a location in uptown Dallas.
“We’re a company that wants to grow and has longevity,” he said. “If somebody has a passion to want to make pizza, I would say we’re definitely the place to come and make pizza.”
Greenville Avenue Pizza Company
520 Lockwood Drive, Ste 200, Richardson
469-825-0777
www.gapc.co
Hours: Sun.-Thu. 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-midnight
