Lions & Tigers & Squares, a Detroit-style pizza shop by the founders of NYC’s famed Artichoke Basille’s Pizza, has opened its second Manhattan location at 160 2nd Avenue at 10th Street in the East Village. The new restaurant, which is larger than the original Chelsea shop, features a dining room that seats 50 guests, a bar that will play Michigan sports games, and is planning to roll out sidewalk cafe seating for al fresco dining come Spring 2020.

Lions & Tigers & Squares, which is an ode to all things Detroit – Detroit Lions, Detroit Tigers, and Detroit-style square pizza – is best known for serving up Motor City’s signature square pan pizza with a crunchy, caramelized cheese crust. Current four-slice Detroit-style square favorites include classic cheese, pepperoni, baby meatball, black olive, and LTS’ signature Mustard Pie with spicy brown mustard and cheddar cheese. This core menu will be served alongside several new items available only at the new East Village outpost, which include: 

  • Spicy chicken wings dubbed the Detroit Red Wings
  • Graceland Pie, inspired by The King himself and topped with pulled pork in Elvis’s favorite BBQ sauce
  • Bacon & Blue Cheese Pie with a marinara base

Chop Cheese Pizza, which pays homage to the famous Chop Cheese sandwich that’s an Uptown staple first started in Harlem. The pie will feature a ketchup base, topped with onions, hamburger, and American cheese, then finished with a Heinz 57 sauce drizzle.

Half Pies, which are equivalent to one slice, will also be available.

“When expanding and developing the menu for the East Village location, we knew we wanted to look to Detroit for inspiration and feature more of the city’s signature beyond just their square pan pizzas,” says co-founder Francis Garcia.  “We had a lot of fun developing these new creations that pay homage to both Lions & Tigers & Squares’ Detroit and New York roots.”

Lions & Tigers & Squares was conceived in 2018 by Artichoke Basille’s Pizza co-founders and pizza aficionados, Francis Garcia and Sal Basille, who were inspired to open a Detroit-style pizza shop after visiting Buddy’s Pizza in Detroit while filming for their Cooking Channel series, Pizza Cuz.  Much like Artichoke Basille’s Pizza, LTS has already gained fame and loyal fans in NYC and beyond and has been featured on Thrillist’s Fork Yeah, The Rachael Ray Show, and Jimmy Kimmel Live!, among others.

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