Opening This Week: Natick Detroit-Style Pizza Restaurant

NATICK, MA — Natick's new Detroit-style pizza restuarant has an opening date.

Square Mfg. Co. will open on Dec. 4 at a Route 9 shopping plaza, bringing a rare but popular pizza style to MetroWest for the first time.

Detroit-style pizza is like a combination of Sicilian and Chicago styles. The pan-baked Detroit pies come out (yes) square, with caramelized cheese baked into the crust.

The pizza style dates to the 1940s, when it debuted at Buddy's Rendezvous in north-central Detroit. Interest has grown in the style in recent years, with restaurants from Portland, Ore., and now to Natick offering Motor City pies.

"Detroit is trending because it’s new to people," Portland restaurant owner Brian Spangler told Esquire last year for a story on the Detroit pizza trend.

Square Mfg. Co. owner Kris Gullapalli is a Midwest native and graduate of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor — now home to a Buddy's Rendezvous location.

Square Mfg. Co., 935 Worcester St., will have a "soft opening" on Friday and will be open Wednesday to Sunday 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. The restaurant plans to expand hours to 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the future.