Pizza Tascio has opened its eighth location, this time settling into downtown Mission at 5422 Johnson Drive, where a steady stream of customers has kept the counter busy since the doors opened. The New York-style pizzeria, known for its 18-inch pies and by-the-slice service, debuted the Mission spot on August 31, giving Johnson County its second new Pizza Tascio in exactly two weeks.
According to The Kansas City Star, the Mission location is set up primarily for to-go orders, though it does have a few indoor seats and a sizable patio along Johnson Drive. Co-owner Eli Lombardino told the paper that people had been asking Pizza Tascio to come to Mission, adding, “It's been great,” and that the brand is “excited to meet everybody in Mission.” Lombardino said Pizza Tascio aims to stick to what it's good at as it grows.
Downtown Mission has become a hotspot in recent years, and Pizza Tascio now sits among neighbors like The Book Club, The Primrose, Common Tiger and Truly Madly Depot. The area's growing food-and-drink scene made it a natural fit for a pizzeria that built its reputation on slice-and-pie volume rather than sit-down dining. City of Mission planning documents identify the easternmost land area between Johnson Drive and Martway as an underdeveloped property that has been through several development plans.
According to the City of Mission Community Development Department, planning efforts include the creation of enhanced public spaces and programming downtown along Johnson Drive. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019-2023 American Community Survey, Mission had 5,258 households, with 50.0 percent of its housing units in multi-unit structures. The Johnson County Post reported that Mission’s Planning Commission approved The Snack Shack’s request in 2022 to grant its decades-old Johnson Drive sign a designation.
A Neighborhood Partnership Just Down the Street
One of the more distinctive local wrinkles to the Mission opening is a new partnership with Sully's Pub, a neighboring bar also on Johnson Drive. Per the Johnson County Post, pub patrons can now order Pizza Tascio pies delivered straight to their bar tables using table-top QR codes, a setup Sully's had previously established with nearby WingStand.
Eli Lombardino has owned the business alongside brothers Caleb and Gian Lombardino since November 2023, when the trio took over full ownership from founder Erik Borger. The company is operated day to day by Eli, Caleb and Gian Lombardino along with Sean Davis, and it remains based in St. Joseph, where the brand got its start.
Slices, 18-Inch Pies and a Rapid Rollout
The Mission location's menu leans on Pizza Tascio's signature offerings, including the Red Tascio — an 18-inch Bianco DiNapoli sauce pie topped with mozzarella, ricotta, cup pepperoni, fresh basil and Mike's Hot Honey — and the White Tascio, an 18-inch white pie with whole-milk mozzarella, ricotta, Paradise Locker Italian sausage, broccoli and roasted garlic olive oil. Both specialty pies run $29, and the shop also offers a $10 combo with two slices and a drink for customers who just want a quick bite.
Mission is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The opening came just two weeks after Pizza Tascio launched another Johnson County outpost on August 17 at 1485 E. 151st St. in Olathe, a space that formerly housed Curry in a Hurry, according to the same Johnson County Post report on the Olathe debut.
Founded in 2021, Now Eight Locations Strong
Pizza Tascio was founded by Erik Borger in 2021. Before taking over ownership, the Lombardino brothers started as teenage dishwashers under Borger in St. Joseph, according to Startland News.
The Mission shop marks Pizza Tascio's eighth location overall, following the brand's seventh metro opening at 7109 NW Barry Road in Kansas City. The chain's dough is made with organic flour from Central Milling and its sauce from California-grown Bianco DiNapoli organic tomatoes, with mozzarella grated in-house and no seed oils or potassium bromate used, per OysterLink. Pizza Today magazine named Pizza Tascio one of its 25 national “Pizzerias to Watch in 2023,” citing the company's operational growth, employee initiatives and community engagement.
The expansion hasn't been without setbacks. Pizza Tascio permanently closed its Massachusetts Street location in Lawrence, Kansas, in July 2024 after two years in business, according to the Lawrence Times. Even so, the brand's Kansas City metro momentum has continued, bolstered in December 2025 when Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy rated the North Kansas City location an 8.1 during a metro pizza tour tied to Missouri's sports betting launch, as reported by Northeast News.
Eli Lombardino said the company is now eyeing further growth, with up to three additional locations under consideration for 2027. For a brand that started as a single St. Joseph storefront in 2021 and has already grown to eight locations across the Kansas City area, the Mission opening looks less like a one-off and more like another step in a rollout that shows no signs of slowing down.
