Project Pie

My GF and I took our kids to have pizza at Project Pie. You can order by number or build your own pizza to your liking. My daughter had a Hawaiian pizza while I had # 8 — Roasted brussels sprouts, prosciutto, red onion, mozzarella, parmesan, olive oil — white pizza, so no red sauce. My pizza was good, and I enjoyed the thin crispy crust and toppings, but the pizza was a little too salty.

We happened to stop by during their promotional event today where each customer got their own pizza and drink for free to try out the place. We opted to customize both of ours and they were excellent. The best part is that the staff is hands-​down the friendliest staff around! Looking forward to their official opening!

Disappointed to find out they closed! This was the best version of make your your own pizza that I have been. Definitely preferred the crust over Pieology in Pleasant Hill and Mod Pizza in Pinole.

Project Pie stumbled into town, tripped, and fell flat on it’s face. They were already against the odds competing in a saturated market with numerous pizza options in Walnut Creek, Lafayette, and Pleasant Hill. The final nail in their coffin seemed to be (mis)management and business operations.
I came here once with my girlfriend. Our pizzas were fine but nothing to write home about. As another reviewer mentioned the plastic silverware was useless for attempting to eat pizza if you’re a fork-​and-​knife eater like me. There were overstaffed too. People stepping over each other ultimately slowing down the production line. The fancy cane sugar sodas were kind of a fun novelty.
We never did go back though. Just a night or two ago we walked by only to find a half-​baked ‘thank you’ letter taped on the inside of the front door thanking the community for their business. No Project Pie, thank you. Now someone who knows what they’re doing can open up shop in here.

Out of business and/​or closed.
See picture for more details. Rating reflects closed status.

Was alright. Not fantastic.
Fun to make a pizza like chipotle.
Staff was nice, but didn’t seem to be very engaged with the customer. Felt very empty in there.
That said, id come back.

It’s 7:30pm on a Tuesday…
Why are you guys closed ???
We brought family over that drove 2 hours to try out your pizza…

I’ve seen the signs promoting the opening all summer and finally had the chance to try it out the other day. I ordered the #2 which was pepperoni, Italian sausage, crumbled meatballs, mozzarella and garlic. I added garlic butter. Do this, trust me. It makes a tasty difference. I felt bad for neglecting my veggies so added some spinach.
He had a Kale Salad.
We ate outside on the patio the night of the Supermoon lunar eclipse and it was perfect… just like that pizza pie. Crispy, thin, tasty with just the right amount of toppings that you almost had to use a knife and fork. Did I mention the Boylan’s soda machine? Pure cane sugar, no coloring, no preservatives and I don’t even like soda but I refilled the cherry soda twice.
Can’t wait to come back and try other items off their menu.

Project pie is my new favorite pizza place. I love the servers and how they treated me and talked to me. The ambiance reminded me of an upscale modern Chipotle, with metal as the main counter, and some yellowish wood décor, and some white walls and some black. It looks and feels clean. But most importantly is the food. I went all crazy on my pizza and order almost every topping, and its only 9.99. The toppings tasted fresh and lovely. It kind of reminds me of a whole foods artisian pizza, but the crust is lovely.
Also, double that I can get my Boylan Cane Soda here. No other stores I know has it, except when traveling to SF. Now I can get my fix, and it has a variety of different flavors.
The only reason it’s not a four star restaraunt, the pies need to be alot bigger or a variety of sizes. The 9.99 pizza only dishes out four slices. Its great for one person, but not great for sharing.

Was absolutely amazing! Great fast service and while the crust is thin it tastes amazing and no too crunchy.

New pizza place in Downtown Walnut Creek. What’s great about this place is you can build your own pie or choose from the list they have already created. Similar to Subway/Chipotle…cool!
Pros: Delicious thin crust, fresh toppings and overall the quality and taste is very good. Especially, baking in the open fire oven.
Cons: Last few time I went the turnaround time was very slow. They only have one machine that flattens the pizza dough. They should invest in another or have a designated person flattening pizza dough to speed up the line process.
Definitely will be returning!

New pizza place downtown in Walnut Creek has the right crust, good toppings, and friendly staff. The crust is thin and crispy but also chewy and tastes like fresh bread. I know that sounds weird but you know good bread when you eat it. They also have Boylan’s soda at the fountain which is awesome. Pizzas are 11in across and a cheese is $ 7, with toppings for $ 9.

Mr Rinky and I attended the Unilocal Elite night here. I wanted to write a separate review of Project Pie to thank the fabulous staff. They served the huge crowd of Unilocalers with such friendliness and competency.
The entire staff including the manager (whose name I didn’t catch) and Tara and Amanda were so sweet and helpful.
The pizzas were made to order. So many choices of toppings and sauces.
They have many designer pizzas you can choose from.
The pizzas cost $ 9.99. The crust is thin and slightly crispy.
They also have salads, dessert pizzas (yum!), craft beers, homemade sodas as well as bottled water as well juices and other drinks.
The ambiance is very cool. One wall has a cute montage of pop art characters and the other walls have quotes from famous and infamous people.
There is a variety of seating choices – high top round tables for 4 – 5 + people, a few tables for 2 – 4 people, counter high top tables, community tables and outdoor tables.
The bathrooms are clean and sparkly.
We’ll definitely eat here again!
Just an FYI parking meters in this part of Walnut Creek must be fed until EIGHT pm!

The Subway/​Chipotle pizza craze is well underway. I was disappointed when BUILD went out of business, but I must say, this is much better than Piologoy. There was actually some char on my crust, and the toppings were good. However, it is a little disjointed, it would have been more fun to watch them build my pizza — if they do next time, I will likely tell them to put a little more sauce and a little less cheese — but a personal pizza with unlimited toppings for under 10 bucks with this type of quality is a steal.
And to the crybaby who complained they didn’t know where to put their tray — Um, It was pretty easy to find, and if I don’t know where to take my tray — leave it on the table, they’ll clean it up. Don’t ding a new place on Unilocal because you can’t problem solve!

I had heard this placed opened recently and I wanted to try out. I was in neighborhood running errands and it was really slow because it was after lunch time but almost dinner time. I had heard that you can build your own Pie and I got 2 for the kiddies. The ingredients are abundant and you start off with a 9″ pie crust and you can also get a Gluten free as an option. The ingredients are as follows:
Cheeses– Mozzarella; Gouda, Feta
Sauces– Butter, Garlic Butter, Marinara
Ingredients– Pepperoni, Spicy Italian Sausage, Canadian Bacon, Prociutto, Roasted Red Bell peppers. Grilled Buttered Brussel Sprouts, Pineapple, Spinach, Garlic, Tomatoes, Carmelized Onions, Red Onions, and Artichoke hearts.
They have a soda fountain and drinks at front. The best part about it is that the oven cooks the Pizza fast and we got ours within 5 minutes. Nice staff and plenty of seating makes it a perfect place to grab a Pie or take it home after running errands in Walnut Creek.

Project Pie is a clean and simple pizza place that is reminiscent of Chipotle. The pizza is prepared quickly and tastes fantastic!
There is only one size for pizzas and they are all thin crust. One pizza is filling enough. $ 7 for a cheese pizza. $ 9 for all others. You can either build your own (like Chipotle) or choose one of the «standards». Either way, you can add as many toppings as you want for free! It takes about 2 minutes to put all the toppings on and about 3 minutes for it to cook.
I also got a Black & White to share with my friend for dessert. It’s a pizza (same size as the non-​dessert ones) that has cinnamon sugar, icing, and nutella!
I had a great experience with service. Everyone was very sweet and friendly, and the food was prepared quickly!

Time: 5:37pm/85°F sunny
Purpose: For the last two Fridays in a row, I was in charge of contra Costa area. So after work, I was in no mood to drive just wanted to eat and hang out. Found this place while at a stoplight and also newly listed.
Set-​up: The drill. Get in line choose your pizza way, toppings, pay, wait and eat. Boomerang shaped counter with open air built in fridge for bottle beverages. Partition glass separating you and the workers just point or say. One open fire oven with continuous fire burning. Unfinished ceiling particle boards with air duct expose. Cement floor and sleek brick designs throughout the place. Plenty of seating high stools/​tables, window seating, patio seating, family style tables. Some comic sections on wall for humor and scribbles with tip jar. Ipad camera shots of yourself mounted near ordering line. Utensil/​condiment station organizer along side of trash bucket and a Boyland’s soda fountain self serve. Place gets crazy noisy after 6pm. Kids screaming and chasing each other. Some even jump and press soda fountain paddles for the hell of it. Can’t carry a decent convo, must take it outdoor.
Staff: A good mix of guys and girls about 6 to 7 workers, high school to freshman college. I just dealt with four of them. First one slather oil and sauce on pizza dough. Second worker put on toppings, third guy puts it in oven while fourth guy took my funds. Fast and brisk no time to chat with them. Doing so will hold up other patrons.
Cleanliness: Grade B, most area were clean and clear of debris. However the soda fountain needs to be wipe down. Kids playing around with the paddles, pushing it and running away giggling. Didn’t like the writing on my parchment paper before my pizza sits on top. Didn’t find this sanitary at all, as oil obsorbs what ever it comes in contact with.
Eats/​Drinks: Build my own pizza. Went with #6 grilled chicken and # 7 prosciutto. Made it half and half on pizza. Since it was unlimited toppings, I went after the main which is chicken and prosciutto. It’s so mediocre as chicken were processed and prosciutto was too salty. Pizza had a crispy crust, but the bottom was char, blackened my fingers. Didn’t really enjoy it, for $ 9 not a good bargain. I could’ve have went to Papa Murphy’s and got me large for $ 9. Bake it at home serving a family of four easily.
Main Features: Build your own pizza with unlimited toppings for a flat price.
Products/​Services: Pies-​classic cheese pie, pepperoni, tomato artichoke, sliced tomatoes, mozzarella ricotta, grilled chicken, prosciutto, roasted brussel sprouts, nutella & banana, the black & white, parmesan & garlic, salads. Free soda refills, bottle drinks, baby booster chairs, takes plastic, patio, order by number or BYO, selfie pictures taken (optional), full bar (coming soon).
Punch Lines: Modest cost, harried staff, always buzzing, imaginable toppings, kitschy décor, zippy service, hordes of people, lively atmosphere, nothing out of the ordinary, char crust pizza, industrial interior, quite bland, not as great, go elsewhere, pretentious, street/​garage parking, downtown shopping district.
Tradeoffs: The price is fixed on toppings not so much for the pizza dough. You’ll loose out if you don’t add more than its recommendation.
Final Thoughts: Paying a set price of $ 9 for BIY pizza with no sauce. What’s a pizza with no sauce? Place clearly tells me they don’t care who or what you are. As long as each person walks in, they stand to make at least $ 9+ per head without drinks or other items. Even kids needs to cough up that $ 9. PP trays hard to differentiate itself with a gourmet soda fountain from Boylands. Its pretty laughable here as, the place adds humor to make you forget your experience.

I don’t have time to write a review now but short version is pizza is good.
Management I agree 100% with Andy H’s review.
Ditto those comments.
Oh and send someone out to see how the customer is doing.
Sign on door says it all «trial and error»…oh and customer is who we experiment with.

They have a lot of room for improvement. The changes needed are very obvious so I hope the person responsible for this location is paying attention. Overall it is another fine lunch option in Walnut Creek. It will be a good one if they can make the following changes:
1. Make it clear where customers are supposed to start. I watched at least three groups walk up to the register asking where they should order. This is simple.
2. Put a MUCH bigger menu on the wall for people to see from 20ft. There should be more than just the 11×17″ menu on the glass where you need to order. Give people time to decide what they want.
3. Provide metal utensils for dine-​in customers. The plastic forks and knives were insufficient to cut through the crust. I had to end up tearing apart my pizza. If you want people to pick up the slices to eat them, then cut the pizza into 6 slices instead of 4.
4. Make it clear what you want people to do with their trays when they’re done. I had no idea! There are trash cans but no place to put your trays and it didn’t seem that any employees would come pick them up if that was the case.
Also, there were way too many employees for the number of customers on Sunday afternoon. All (except for the guy managing the pizzas in the oven) seemed to be a lot more interested in talking and hanging out than doing their job well. Their communication between each other wasn’t good either. This will come with time as the kinks were worked out, but I didn’t get the feeling that many of them were even trying to be a good employee rather than hanging out with friends.
There’s more, but this is a good place to start. I’ll be back in a couple months to see what improvements have been made.

Who thought those cartoons were a good idea? I’m surprised that I wasn’t told to go wash my own dishes after lunch. First and last time going in here. Also, read up on what Nestle is doing to California, selling their bottled water? Meh!