McClain’s Pizzeria is back in Mandeville after a devastating fire forced the family-run restaurant into a nine-month rebuild. The comeback brings a new location, more room, a full bar and a menu that reaches beyond the shop’s familiar pizzas and pastas.
The restaurant has reopened ahead of a grand reopening celebration this Saturday, with live music, DJ sets and frozen drinks planned for the occasion, according to NOLA.com’s report. McClain’s had operated in Mandeville for 13 years before an electrical fire damaged the original restaurant in October 2025.
The blaze left the pizzeria closed indefinitely as the family assessed the damage and began rebuilding, WDSU reported at the time. The restaurant’s return also marks a move away from its former Old Mandeville home, with the new McClain’s now operating on Highway 22.
A Community-Funded Comeback
McClain’s employees have returned to work, and nearby restaurants helped keep some of them employed during the long recovery. Community donations exceeded $34,000 through a fundraising campaign, a show of support that owner Maggie Balmer described as phenomenal in the NOLA.com account.
One especially meaningful survivor of the fire was the family cookbook, which made it through with only a few charred pages. Those recipes remain at the center of the restaurant’s identity, with McClain and her husband and father preparing dough and red sauce in the open kitchen.
More Seating, A Full Bar And New Dishes
The rebuilt restaurant adds indoor seating, a private event room for more than 30 people and a 16-beer draft list. A hot sauce bar and Louisiana-themed touches are also planned, while the expanded menu includes deviled eggs, Brussels sprouts and gluten-free carrot cake alongside the homemade pizzas and pastas.
The restaurant’s official history traces the family’s pizza-making roots to Washington state in the 1970s, when relatives adapted a bagel recipe into pizza dough. McClain’s says it has continued using those family recipes since McClain Balmer opened his own Village Pizza in 1997, making the reopening less of a reset than a very smoky continuation.
Grand Reopening Plans
Saturday’s celebration will feature live music, DJ sets, rum punch, Bloody Marys and margaritas. The family has also booked private parties at the new space and plans to host more events as the restaurant settles into its larger footprint.
After months of construction and uncertainty, returning customers are already filling the dining room alongside new visitors. The recipe book may still carry the scars of the fire, but McClain’s Pizzeria is once again serving the food that helped make it a Mandeville gathering place.
