Pizaro's Pizza has filed permits for a new location in the North Braes Shopping Center in Meyerland, signaling another chapter in the Houston pizzeria's slow-building expansion beyond its original Memorial-area roots. The filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation covers a planned 944-square-foot build-out inside a shell building at 9150 Chimney Rock Road, with an estimated project cost of $120,000.
The permit was first reported by Chron, which noted that construction is planned to begin in November, with completion targeted for March 2027. The Southwest Houston site sits in a retail center that has recently drawn other new tenants, including a 3,979-square-foot Roberts Carpet & Fine Floors flagship that opened in August, according to Community Impact. Pizaro's has not officially announced the Meyerland restaurant as a confirmed third location, and it remains unclear whether the compact space will function as a full-service dining room or a more limited takeout and delivery outpost.
A Family Business Built On Backyard Pizza
The Meyerland filing traces back to a much smaller beginning. Founder Bill Hutchinson opened the first Pizaro's Pizza in 2011 after leaving a career in oil and gas, inspired by a hobby of making Neapolitan-style pizza that he pursued after training in Naples, Italy under master pizza chef Peppe Miele, the station's report notes. That original 1,500-square-foot space in a Memorial shopping center became the foundation for a brand that now operates across styles and neighborhoods.
Pizaro's expanded to Montrose four years after its first location opened, and that 2015 move became a turning point: the Montrose location became the first pizzeria in Houston to earn official certification from the Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana, an international body that enforces strict standards for Neapolitan pizza, including Italian 00 flour, San Marzano tomatoes, and wood-fired baking at 900 degrees. That same year, Pizaro's expanded its menu to include New York-style and Detroit-style pizzas alongside its Neapolitan roots, per the pizzeria's own account of its history. The restaurant now offers Neapolitan-style, New York-style, and Detroit-style pizza across its locations.
From Katy Freeway To A Stalled Airport Opening
In 2018, Pizaro's opened a location at 11177 Katy Freeway, less than two miles from its original Memorial shopping center space, giving the growing brand a second Houston foothold. Around the same period, the pizzeria's national profile climbed further: former Houston Texans star J.J. Watt named Pizaro's Neapolitan pizza his favorite in Houston during a 2018 Sports Illustrated profile, a nod that helped raise its visibility across the region.
Company president and co-owner Nicole Bean has helped drive that reputation on an international stage, representing the United States at the World Pizza Championship in Parma, Italy, in April 2019, after winning the Caputo Cup Rising Star Award at the 2018 International Pizza Expo the year before. Pizaro's Pizza Napoletana was later named to the 50 Top Pizza USA list under its Excellent Pizzerias category in May 2024, ranking 29th nationwide among artisan pizzerias, and Houston Press named the restaurant Best Pizza in its Best of Houston awards in both 2016 and 2025.
Not every expansion effort has moved as quickly as hoped. Chron reported in 2025 that Pizaro's planned to open a location at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, tied to United Airlines and the City of Houston's broader Terminal B transformation project, which received $150 million in municipal funding in March 2024 toward its overall $2.6 billion cost, according to Community Impact. That airport location has still not opened. Bean told Chron she hoped the Terminal B spot would open by June or July, though no updated timeline has been confirmed.
Part Of A Broader Detroit-Style Pizza Wave
Pizaro's expanded menu has also put it at the center of a citywide shift toward Detroit-style pizza, a rectangular, pan-baked style that dates to the 1940s. A 2024 Hoodline report cited Pizaro's alongside newer arrivals like Austin-born Via 313 and Gold Tooth Tony's in the Heights as key drivers of the style's growing popularity in Houston. Whether the Meyerland location will lean into that expanded menu or focus on a narrower offering remains one of the open questions surrounding the project as construction plans move forward.
