Greater downtown Detroit has been a virtual Detroit-style pizza desert for awhile.
It’s been ironic that it has been much easier as of late to get a slice of New York- or Chicago-style pizza than a quality local pie, especially as downtown is the heart of tourism in the city.
That situation has gotten a little better with the opening of Shield’s in Midtown in the historic Maccabees building.
Now, everyone has their preference around which of the big Detroit style brands is the best, but Shield’s is the first to open in Greater Downtown as of this morning.
The location is designed for both dine-in and grab-and-go.
As far as quick options, they have a $5 lunch special on weekdays for pizza and a pop. Pizza and a salad runs $8.
There is more than pizza on the menu. It includes pastas, ribs and sandwiches.
It’s a neat space, with bottle openers from shields pizzeria parking lots, three bases and a collection of gloves thrown at umpires from the old Tiger Stadium (which used to be called both Navin Field and Briggs Stadium).
It’ll be interesting to see how it does. Although this particular location hasn’t been great for previous restaurants, none of them had the brand or following that Shield’s does.
Shield’s is at 5057 Woodward Avenue in Detroit. More at ShieldsPizza.com.