Good Slice Pizza to open on Michigan Avenue, serve TurboChef oven-fired pies by the slice

Lansing State Journal

The Good Slice Pizza Co. is expected to occupy this space at 414 E. Michigan Ave. in mid-May.

LANSING — A pizza restaurant that vows to be different than others in the area has plans to open across from the Lansing Center on May 17.

The fast-casual Good Slice Pizza Co. will offer pizza by the slice and occupy the former Aldaco's Taco 911 location at 414 E. Michigan Ave.

Good Slice co-owner Scott VanGilder, 44, an Okemos native, lived in downtown Lansing for 15 years and is hopeful the restaurant can help revive the area.

"We've seen the ebb and flow of businesses that have come and gone," VanGilder said. "Hopefully this will be a good addition to the strip."

Downtown Lansing is expected to get a new pizza restaurant in mid-May across from the Lansing Center.

VanGilder said Good Slice is expected to offer slices of pizza from at least five different pies for about $4.50 each.

Servings won't be skimpy because each 18-inch pizza will be cut into just six slices, he said.

Good Slice's signature pizza will be meat-heavy and called "Piggie Smalls." It will include sausage, bacon and ham, he said.

Turbo-powered

VanGilder and friend Jerome White, also a co-owner, will rely on a recently purchased TurboChef oven to give Good Slice an edge in efficiency over its nearby competitors.

A TurboChef is expected to cook Good Slice's 18-inch pizzas in less than four minutes.

Customers who buy cooked slices can get them warmed up in the oven and to their liking in 20 to 30 seconds, VanGilder said.

The Good Slice business model is expected to be similar to Georgio's, a popular pizza-by-the-slice business in East Lansing with two locations near Michigan State University's campus.

Good Slice will be open to pizza recipe suggestions from customers once it opens and will roll out Lansing Lugnuts baseball and Lansing Ignite soccer-inspired pies on game days.

"We're not planning on getting too crazy," VanGilder said of the recipes. "But we have some good ideas. We're open to whatever."

The restaurant is expected to seat 15 to 20 people in its 1,000-square-foot dining area. The menu will also include breadsticks and salads.

Hours, job openings

Hours for Good Slice could vary during the week and weekend depending on events that are held downtown.

For now, VanGilder anticipates hours to be:

11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays
11 or 11:30 a.m. Fridays to 3 a.m. Saturdays
Noon or 5 p.m. Saturdays to 3 a.m. Sundays

Good Slice is seeking people to fill several jobs at the restaurant.

Applications can be submitted online at Good Slice's website, goodslicepizzaco.com. For more information, visit its Facebook page at facebook.com/goodslicepizza.

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Eric Lacy is a reporter for the Lansing State Journal. Contact him at 517-377-1206 or elacy@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @EricLacy.

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