In Memoriam: Beverly Hills' Jacopo's Pizzeria Closes

By Christie Bishop Thu., Dec. 9 2010 at 10:00 AM

Categories: Pizza, Restaurant Closings

Flickr/Muy Yum

RIP Jacopo's Pizza

As any West L.A. native knows, Jacopo's Pizzeria was an L.A. institution. For years, the restaurant's red leatherette booths supported the behinds of many Angelenos, from families' chowing down on garlic cheese bread, sausage pizza and ricotta-stuffed ravioli after a child's soccer game, to a couple waiting for their Famous Jacopo's salad (extra tangy dressing) and Florentina pizza to-go order. So it is with a heavy heart that we bid adieu to Jacopo's Beverly Hills', which recently closed its doors after a 40-year run.

The reason for the closure? Barry Fogel, Jacopo's owner, posted a short explanation on AOL Answers, simply saying, "Sadly Jacopo's has been losing money since the recession hit a few years back. The slowdown of regular customers and the pizza price wars with the big chains made it impossible to keep up." Unfortunate, because as (former) regular Jacopo's customers for more than 20 years, Jacopo's pizza was our go-to delivery on countless Halloweens, Super Bowl Sundays, and plain-old Friday nights when the work week left us too tired to cook or dine out.

Over the years, as our Jacopo's delivery routine nourished our souls with spinach salads and Jacopo's Special supreme pizzas, we were on a first name basis with the hostess and delivery man. When Jacopo's moved its Beverly Hills' location a few blocks south and changed its delivery zone -- thereby eliminating delivery to our Westwood zip code -- it was the beginning of the end. The few times we made it into the restaurant to pick up our pizza, we noticed fewer and fewer customers. The final nail was hammered into our Jacopo's coffin last year, when the cost of two pizzas and one salad amounted to over $60; too much for our Friday night pizza budget.

All said and done, Jacopo's closure is a sad day for us. But just like their answering machine says (yes, we had to call to make sure the news was true), we too hope that they'll "be back in Beverly Hills in the future."