Miss This 10-Day Pizza Pop-Up in East Van’s Luppolo Brewing and Regret Your Whole Life

Doug Stephen says the name “Sunday pie” comes from traditional pizza slang—the pros throw the dough Monday to Saturday, but the Sunday chef is different, yielding pizzas that are a little less classic and a little more weird.  

And despite Stephen’s extensive background in the industry (think DL Chicken, Downlow Burgers, Vennie’s Sub Shop and The Drive Canteen), he admits he’s not a pizza expert. So when Luppolo Brewing’s regular (and award-winning) pizza chef Luca Colasanti announced he was going on vacation, Stephen decided to name his 10-day takeover of the kitchen Sunday Pies Pizza Co. 

Stephen and chef Colin Staus teamed up for the pop-up, which is on from June 24 to July 3. Myself and fellow editor Nate checked out the menu this afternoon, and it was exactly what you’d expect from Stephen and his collaborators. Which is to say, kickass. 

The Farmer (top) and Meat’Za pizzas from Sunday Pie Co.

The menu includes eight pizzas—we had the Farmer (caramelized zucchini, fior di latte, arugula, lemon oil) and the Meat’Za (Sunday Pie tomato sauce, salami, spicy sausage, roni, chili flakes). The tomato sauce has an awesome umami kick thanks to black garlic. The Farmer was a delightful summer eat: it was fresh and light, and the lemon oil added a touch of elevated acidity. The Meat’Za was the standout, though, and it is not light (in the best way). It’s loaded with sausage and that special sauce—to quote Nate, “I’ll be dreaming of this tonight.” 

Sunday Pies’s takes are purposefully twisted: Stephen says he’s leaving the traditional pizzas to the pros (looking at you, Luca) and instead conducting his own experiments. Trial and error is to be expected, but there’s not much error here—especially not in the additional black garlic dipping sauce. 

Throughout the pop-up, other guests will be crafting their own pies, including Juke’s Bryan Satterford, Beta5’s Adam Chandler, Top Rope Birria and Flying Elbow’s Kevin McKenzie, Published on Main’s Gus Stieffenhofer-Brandson and of course Stephen’s DL Chicken and Downlow Burgers. Kind of buried the lede there, eh? 

With a few sunny days on the horizon (and Luppolo’s lovely patio), we’re predicting this pop up is going to pop off. Get in while you can.