Portland pizza restaurant Slab Sicilian Street Food is closing after 10 years

Half a record on the bar at Slab in Portland in 2014. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

Slab Sicilian Street Food announced Monday that it will close at the end of the week, making it the latest in a string of recent restaurant closures in the greater Portland area.

The Preble Street restaurant announced in an Instagram post that it would be closing starting Saturday.

“People’s habits have definitely changed since the pandemic,” Christopher Bassett, Slab’s general manager and executive chef, said in a phone interview. “Alcohol sales are down and we have focused heavily on that.

“Our takeout sales and our pizzas have been good, and our frozen pizza business is thriving, but a large format space like the one we have here, with live entertainment and patios and a large event space, just doesn't seem to be what it is.” People do these days,” Bassett added. “Things are not the same as they were 10 years ago when we opened.”

Slab was first launched in 2014 by master pizza maker Stephen Lanzalotta, who developed a following for his pizza while working at Micucci Grocery. He died in 2022 at the age of 63 after battling cancer for years. The restaurant was popular for its thick-crusted, one-pound rectangular pizza slices.

“For over a decade we have had the privilege of bringing Stephen Lanzalotta’s masterpiece to the masses, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive,” Slab’s Instagram post reads. “We are so grateful for the national recognition we have received and for our fans far and wide – we cannot thank you enough for your support and kind words over the years.”

The post states that Slab will continue to sell its take-out and bake-in frozen crust pizzas.

“We are currently only focusing on our frozen pizza business. This is a better direction for our efforts,” Bassett explained. “We want to expand this and go national.” Slab's frozen pizzas are already sold throughout New England, including in Maine stores such as Hannaford, Market Basket, Pat's Meat Market and Rosemont Market & Bakery.

In the last month, more than half a dozen restaurants have announced their closure plans, from 10-month-old Thistle & Grouse in Old Port to 48-year-old Muddy Rudder in Yarmouth, with many citing increased costs and staffing issues.

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