A little over eight years ago, in June of 2017, the Lane community said farewell to an institution: Hero’s Sub Shop. After over 50 years of operation at the northwest corner of Western and Addison, the restaurant closed its doors and the building was left vacant.
Norberto Rodriguez, a Lane alum who graduated in 1995, has fond memories of the establishment. “[Lunch] was as it is now, it was open campus, you know, so we probably hit that place about once a week. The food was good…and it was just like a line out the door,” he said.
“That place was around since before I got there…before my days at Lane. Yeah, I mean, it was definitely an institution,” Rodriguez said. “It was definitely sad to see it go.”
But the week of March 1st, a new restaurant (technically a new location, the restaurant also operates in the French Market downtown) called Retro Pizza opened in the old Hero’s location, and it has seen many student customers just like Hero’s did. Restaurant manager Victor Gonzalez has been happy with the number of students coming during lunch periods. “The waves of students have been really, really nice,” he said. “It makes my day go by faster.”
But he is aware the new restaurant has big shoes to fill. “I know that this place used to be Hero’s Subs, and it was beloved by the community,” he said. “If I had a dollar for every time someone came in and was like, ‘I’m so glad something opened’ or ‘I’ve been coming to Hero’s for years,’ it would pay for my salary…So it’s nice to know that an establishment like this was beloved by the neighborhood.”
But what about the food itself? Retro Pizza’s mission is to “rewrite the pizza experience playbook with culinary masterpieces,” according to their website, so high expectations are bound to be placed on the new restaurant. Nevertheless, junior Ezra Galant was pleased with it: “Man, it’s great. It doesn’t really compare to anything around here. Dough is great. Cheese is great. All their ingredients, I mean, really just…just so good. So good.”
It’s worth noting that Retro Pizza doesn’t sell normal pizza; they instead make Roman Pinsa, which is best described as a cross between a flatbread and pizza. The dough is composed of three different flours–wheat, rice, and soy–allowing for increased water absorption and improved digestibility, according to pinsaromana.info.
Galant was also happy that the place wasn’t just another chain. “I think it’s a great addition to the food spots around Lane,” he said. “I’ll take a local spot over a fast food joint any day, you know?”
Galant did note, however, that the restaurant does not come equipped with chain prices–$8.50 per slice is the baseline there (though students do receive a 10% discount), with prices rising the less basic the pizza gets. “It would be difficult to go there every day,” he said in regards to the prices. “But every once in a while, it’d be nice to get some good pizza and support a local business.”
