Hot-Honey Pizza-Slinger 40 North Is Closing in the Fall

West-downtown Neapolitan pizza restaurant 40 North is closing in the fall. The 900 West 10th Street pizzeria’s last day will be on Sunday, October 9.

The casual counter-service restaurant is closing at the end of its lease in the fall, but co-owners Taslim Jamal and chef Clint Elmore want to reopen the pizza spot in some other fashion. “We feel the business has outgrown the building,” writes co-owner Taslim Jamal in a statement, “and we are exploring other opportunities for development.”

Elmore, who studied pizza making in Naples and New York, creates Neapolitan pies topped with hot honey, ricotta, and coppa; mushrooms, black truffles, and herbs; and classics such as margherita or pepperoni. Then there are burgers, salads, labneh served with bread, panna cotta, and zeppoles. The restaurant is also known for its collaborations with local chefs, such as the current spicy pickle pizza made with La Barbecue.

Elmore originally opened 40 North as a pizza trailer on South First in December 2014. He shuttered the truck in July 2016 in anticipation of an eventual physical restaurant. He became the chef of Round Rock pizza restaurant PS 35 in May 2017 but left the month before it closed that November. He and Jamal opened the physical 40 North restaurant in the former homes of Tex-Mex burger spot El Sapo and porky restaurant Bacon in May 2018.