Later Pizza is now serving up mouth-watering pizzas and hand-picked slices, local craft wine and beer, and top-notch service to Waterloo.
The pizzeria is the brainchild of entrepreneurs Dan Lennox and George Russell, and award-winning chef Nick McGregor—the team behind Collingwood hotspot Bent Taco. Lennox and Russell grew up together, often shooting the breeze over a pie at their favourite neighbourhood pizzerias. “Pizza joints are always the easiest, most comfortable spots for getting together with family and friends over amazing food,” says Lennox. “We always dreamed of opening one.”
Through the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic, even as Bent’s takeout needs surged, the team still needed additional revenue to keep their family of chefs and servers working. This gave them the push they needed to try out their collective vision for the perfect pizza. They joined forces with Noel Brohner, the go-to pizza guy for A-list chefs and celebrities including Tom Hanks and Eric Wareheim. Named the “Dough Guru” by Food and Wine Magazine, Brohner worked with chef extraordinaire McGregor to develop Later’s signature crust and novel topping combinations, which the team offered for takeout from a repurposed, Superman-style 1980s phone booth in Collingwood throughout 2020. Almost immediately, they started selling out every single night. In fact, demand was so high they had to order larger ovens to keep up with the week-long waiting lists.
Now, Later Pizza has stepped out of the phone booth to open the first brick-and-mortar shop in one of Ontario’s favourite cities, in partnership with local restaurateurs James Barnett and Taylor Bach, who really brought the idea to life in Waterloo. Designed in collaboration with Toronto-based interiors firm Futurestudio (Piano Piano, Crosley’s, The Wood Owl, and more), the Waterloo outpost is a modern take on a classic slice shop, complete with a sculptural display centrepiece and custom art throughout.
Lennox and Russell have zeroed in on the elevated experience pizza-lovers are looking for, while Brohner and McGregor have teamed up to create the menu, which includes accessible classics like Pepperoni and their own take on Hawaiian, as well as adventurous Later creations with non-traditional topping combinations. The “Mortadella” boasts hot honey, spicy arugula, and truffle sauce alongside the namesake ingredient, and the “Lord of Chicken” offers up shawarma-style chicken and donair sauce. They’ve even re-imagined the slice experience by introducing The Highslice: guests select a base pizza from the display case and then go crazy, customizing to their heart’s content. From there, each one-of-a-kind slice gets folded and fired for a unique flavour experience that’s both hot and cold.
All pizzas are made with the best ingredients and have a thin, crispy, and light crust. Later also serves up a curated selection of natural wines, and their own Later Lager.
Later Pizza can be found at 255 King Street North in Waterloo, Ontario. For menu, ordering, and more information, please visit laterpizza.com.
