The team behind Sebastopol's beloved Psychic Pie is taking its square sourdough pizzas to San Francisco. Nicholi Ludlow and Leith Leiser-Miller are in lease negotiations for a new Roman-style pizza counter called Slice Wolf, with an opening targeted for early 2027 at a location that hasn't yet been disclosed.
The move marks the first expansion for Ludlow and Leiser-Miller, who opened Psychic Pie in Sebastopol in 2022 after running it as a touring square-pie pop-up through wine country and the North Bay starting in 2021, according to San Francisco Chronicle. The pair has lived in Sebastopol and run Psychic Pie there for five years, building a reputation for naturally fermented dough and playful, ever-changing toppings. Ludlow told the Chronicle he misses San Francisco's fast-paced food scene and said he's excited to spend more time in the city as Slice Wolf takes shape.
A New Dough, a New Format
At Slice Wolf, Ludlow is developing a new sourdough recipe that yields a lighter dough than the one used at Psychic Pie, the Chronicle reports. The shop is expected to offer six or seven pies, served as whole 8-by-8-inch squares or pre-cut into 4-inch portions, with toppings that go beyond the seasonal produce and Sonoma County cheese that define the Sebastopol menu.
One standout on the planned lineup is a funeral potato pizza, topped with tater tots, caramelized onions, sour cream, cheddar and corn flakes — a riff on the casserole commonly served at Mormon funerals, per the same report. Another planned pie, the gochujang amatriciana, combines a porky spicy tomato sauce with provolone. The Chronicle describes San Francisco's pizza scene as increasingly heated, which is the backdrop Slice Wolf will be stepping into.
Soft Serve Gets a Dairy Swap
Slice Wolf will carry over Psychic Pie's popular soft serve, though with a change in milk source. The new version will be made with Jersey cow milk from Sonoma County's Valley Ford Creamery and topped with olive oil and flaky sea salt, a departure from the high-fat buffalo milk from Double 8 Dairy that Psychic Pie has used, the Chronicle's report notes.
The Sebastopol Original
Psychic Pie makes Roman-style pizzas, also known as pizza al taglio, from high-hydration sourdough that rests for up to 72 hours and reaches as much as 90 percent hydration, the Chronicle previously reported. The pizzas are cut by scissors and sold by weight — a format that, per Sonoma Magazine, lets customers order a slice without committing to an entire pie, with small portions running about $5.50 to $6 each. The magazine also notes the shop uses locally sourced, naturally fermented dough and works closely with area farmers and producers.
The Press Democrat reports that Psychic Pie rotates eight pizza options at a time, including mushroom, potato and hot coppa varieties, with most pies priced between $23 and $26 per pound. The most popular is the Funguy, a mushroom pizza priced at $23 per pound. Past topping combinations have included mortadella with nettle-pistachio pesto and stracciatella, and capicola with pickled beets, per sfchronicle.com's earlier coverage.
Psychic Pie, located at 980 Gravenstein Highway South, has climbed to No. 69 on the Chronicle's Top 100 Bay Area Restaurants list. Reviewing the restaurant in 2024, Chronicle critic Cesar Hernandez wrote that it has exceptional sourdough and fun, off-the-wall topping combinations. Before opening Psychic Pie, Ludlow worked as a baker at Vive le Tarte and Jane the Bakery and spent time at Del Popolo, a now-closed Neapolitan pizzeria — experience that now underpins the dough he's reworking for San Francisco. The business describes its philosophy as celebrating non-traditional toppings and pizza flavors that reflect the seasons and its Californian identity, according to its own mission statement.
