Knoxville diners who have spent months failing to snag a table at A Dopo finally have another way in. The Slice Bar, a new walk-up concept connected to the acclaimed pizzeria, opens this week behind the restaurant at 516 Williams St., just north of the Old City, according to Knox News.
The addition adds 2,200 square feet of space behind A Dopo, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel. The idea grew out of a simple problem: A Dopo has built a loyal base of sourdough pizza lovers, but its reservations are notoriously hard to get, and the restaurant has been unable to serve many Knoxville diners who want in. Co-owner Brian Strutz said A Dopo had maxed out its wood-burning oven and simply could not make more pizza at that time, per the Sentinel's report.
A Dopo grew out of Brian and Jessica Strutz’s time in Italy: the couple met while studying abroad at the University of Tennessee, then spent six months there in an agricultural exchange program after they married. They opened the Knoxville restaurant in 2016, building its menu around naturally leavened sourdough pizza. The story of that Italy-to-Knoxville path helps explain why the Slice Bar keeps the flagship’s recipes while giving the kitchen a different format for serving them.
The Slice Bar is meant to relieve that pressure while giving A Dopo a way to welcome more guests without changing what made the original restaurant a destination in the first place. The new spot uses the same recipes as A Dopo's main dining room, but serves Roman-style pizza by the slice rather than the whole pies that have made the restaurant's name, as reported by Knox News.
What's on the Menu at the New Walk-Up Spot
Beyond pizza, The Slice Bar offers a full cocktail menu, along with espresso and gelato, according to the Sentinel's reporting. Strutz described the overall experience as elevated, even though the format is built around walk-ins rather than reservations. He also said the menu at The Slice Bar will be more inventive than what's served in A Dopo's main dining room, giving the kitchen room to experiment outside the structure of the flagship menu.
The Slice Bar will be open 4 to 11 p.m. every day, opening an hour earlier and closing an hour later than A Dopo itself, per the same report. Those hours could shift depending on how the concept performs; the restaurant has said it may adjust its hours based on initial demand.
A Dopo's Growing National Reputation
The expansion comes as A Dopo's profile has risen well beyond Knoxville. The restaurant was named to USA Today's 2025 Restaurants of the Year list and to the Michelin Guide to the American South with a Bib Gourmand distinction, an honor that recognizes restaurants serving great food at a great value, the Sentinel reports. That recognition has only intensified demand for a table that was already difficult to land, making The Slice Bar's walk-in model a notable shift for a restaurant used to turning diners away.
The Bib Gourmand puts A Dopo in a value-focused category distinct from Michelin’s star ratings: the guide describes the distinction as recognizing restaurants that serve delicious food at an attractive price. The 2026 American South selection added 14 new Bib Gourmands across the region, including A Dopo. Tennessee already had pizza peers in the guide: Nashville’s Sho Pizza Bar and St. Vito Focacceria were also recognized. The distinctions give Knoxville diners a broader regional frame for A Dopo’s latest Michelin recognition.
The article was written by Joanna Hayes, who covers restaurants and retail for the business growth and development team at Knox News.
