Village Pizzeria's storefront in Larchmont Village has gone quiet, with the pizza shop closed for three straight days as of Monday. Owner Amy Saxon says the closure is temporary, telling neighbors the restaurant is not shutting down for good and plans to reopen shortly.
A Familiar Face on Larchmont, Under New Uncertainty
The closure was first reported by Larchmont Buzz, which noted the shuttered pizzeria has become a topic of concern among regulars in the neighborhood. Saxon, one of the restaurant's current owners, confirmed to the outlet that the closure isn't permanent, even as no firm reopening date has been made public. Village Pizzeria has also been the subject of local rumors that it was for sale, according to the same report.
Those rumors have some history behind them. The outlet's report notes that a deal to sell Village Pizzeria to a longtime local restaurant owner was reportedly struck at one point, but that agreement fell apart at the last minute, leaving the current ownership group in place.
Ownership Roots Go Back to a 2022 Sale
Village Pizzeria's current owners, Bret Saxon, Amy Saxon, and Jeff Bowler, purchased the restaurant from longtime former owner Steve Cohen in July 2022. Cohen, described as the pizzeria's longtime former owner, still lives in the Larchmont Village area, per the same report from the outlet.
Village Pizzeria’s roots on the boulevard go back decades: Steve and Nancy Cohen opened it in a former bakery after moving to Los Angeles, bringing with them an idea inspired by a Village Pizzeria franchise in San Francisco. The family became part of the restaurant’s daily life; before the pandemic, the Cohens’ children also worked there. The restaurant’s history is detailed in a profile of the Cohen family and the pizzeria.
The ownership transition hasn't been entirely tidy behind the scenes. Bret Saxon, Amy Saxon, Jeff Bowler, and Cohen have disputed ownership of restaurant memorabilia tied to the pizzeria, a dispute that the outlet's reporting indicates remains unresolved.
The memorabilia dispute turns partly on competing readings of the sale paperwork. Cohen’s attorney pointed to language excluding memorabilia from the sale, while the buyers’ lawyer cited a separate agreement saying property left behind after the transfer would belong to the new owners. The buyers’ lawyer also accused Cohen of breaching the contract; Cohen denied the allegations. The parties’ competing claims, including their lawyers’ interpretations of the documents, were laid out in coverage of the memorabilia dispute.
Neighborhood Storefronts Keep Shuffling
The Village Pizzeria closure lands amid a broader wave of change on the Larchmont Village strip. Jeni's Ice Creams, which had operated on Larchmont for nearly a decade, had its last day in the neighborhood, with its sign coming down the following day. Chamberlain Coffee, the brand founded by online creator and entrepreneur Emma Chamberlain, is taking over that now-vacant Jeni's space.
The pizzeria sits within a commercial strip with a long history of adapting to new businesses. Larchmont Boulevard’s business district was established in the 1920s, and the Larchmont Village Business Improvement District was created in 1998. The BID is funded by property-owner assessments and supports services and activities including street maintenance, marketing and neighborhood events, as described in the district’s history and overview.
For now, Village Pizzeria's future in Larchmont Village hinges on Saxon's word that the doors will reopen. No confirmed timeline has surfaced, and neighbors watching the storefront will likely be looking for signs of activity in the days ahead.
