East London Food & Culture

Yard Sale interior

Yard Sale Pizza is coming to Leytonstone

Co-founder Dan Spinney tells us what we can expect from the hotly anticipated opening

Back in December Yard Sale Pizza announced, on Instagram obviously, that they would be opening their fourth branch in E11. Cue hundreds of likes and comments from Leytonstoners, excited to hear that they would soon be in walking/delivery distance of the creatively-topped, competitively-priced, downright-delicious, award-winning pizzas.

Founded by friends Johnnie Tate, Nick Buckland and Dan Spinney back in 2014, the new outlet is set to open in early March, joining Clapton, Finsbury Park and Walthamstow. A former chicken shop on the High Road, it’s a couple of doors down from Peacocks, opposite Iceland and round the corner from Luna Lounge, where you’ll be able to order pizzas without delivery charge.

We caught up with co-founder Dan who, it turns out, is the person we have to thank for Yard Sale coming to E11.

So Dan, why Leytonstone? “It’s the place I call home for a few years now. It has a good neighbourhood vibe which is something we look for with all our locations but to be honest the prospect of getting our pizza delivered to my own door was something I wasn’t going to let go of easily…”

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It will cater for dine-in, takeaway and delivery. “No third parties here, we run our own dedicated delivery service which definitely makes things more complicated but it’s worth it when it comes to delivering a better quality product. We’re looking at about 30 covers inside and a few tables outside when the sunshine eventually returns.”

Inside there will be similarities with the other branches in the colour scheme, eco-touches and casual vibe. “No doubt you’ll see some pastel tones similar to our other branches, smart brass light fixtures and hopefully some interesting recycled materials from Smile Plastics who we have worked with previously on some bespoke furniture and countertops. Our dine-in spaces are totally casual as any good pizza joint should be but always friendly and fun. Leytonstone will be no exception.”

Large pizza covered in toppings
Mouth watering? Photo: YSP

Yet to scarf down a Yard Sale Pizza? Think Neopolitan-meets-NYC and flavour-boosting preparation and ingredients. “In a nutshell it’s the quality of the more traditional Neopolitan pizza, light and bubbly crusts, combined with the size of the huge pizzas you might find in NYC. My business partner and exec chef Nick Buckland has tried to create something a little different, fun and fit for sharing but still high quality. We spend time cooking our base sauce to maximise flavour, hand cut our fresh veg, and double ferment our dough which all makes a big difference.”

The eight-pizza menu will largely be the same as the other branches, featuring Yard Sale’s most popular pizza, the Holy Pepperoni, which is topped with three types of pepperoni including Cobble Lane Cured and a spicy nduja, as well as the TSB – tenderstem broccoli, pine nuts and manchego. “We are always rotating other pizzas we love and bringing back favourites whilst regularly collaborating with other great people to create one-off specials under our informal series of ‘Love-Ins’ with the likes of Monty’s Deli, Deeneys, Rola Wala, Patty & Bun, and Breddos Tacos.”

Yard Sale interior
How the E11 branch will look (give or take). Photo: YSP

And don’t panic if you’re thinking of making Veganuary a permanent thing. “There are always options for vegans and we recently discovered a better vegan cheese which has confused a few of our vegan customers who thought we had used our usual Fior Di Latte mozzarella, a good sign we think.”

The name Yard Sale Pizza comes from the company’s origins. “We started out in my Johnnie’s backyard where he shared a house with Nick. They built an oven and we threw pizza parties for friends and family to test our wares: our friends helped serve on paper plates, beer was brewed, napkins cut from old fabric and the tables and benches definitely had a Yard Sale vibe. The name was a homage to those early days.”

And the million-dollar question, well certainly the one every E10 dweller has been asking. Will they be delivering to Leyton? “We want to ensure we can deliver a good quality hot pizza so our delivery radius has to be relatively tight. We will be delivering to parts of Leyton but not all and can only encourage people in those further reaches to come to the shop and hang out with us instead.”

You’ve been told.

Find Yard Sale Pizza at 622 High Road Leytonstone from early March. Open Monday – Thursday 5pm – 11pm; Fridays & Saturdays 12pm -11pm; Sundays 12pm – 10pm. Keep up to date here

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