Fat Slice Pizza permanently closes in Berkeley after 34 years

Fat Slice Pizza in Berkeley has permanently closed its doors after 34 years in business. Fat Slice Pizza in Berkeley has permanently closed its doors after 34 years in business. Photo: Photo By M.C. H. Photo: Photo By M.C. H. Image 1 of / 47 Caption Close Fat Slice Pizza permanently closes in Berkeley after 34 years 1 / 47 Back to Gallery

It’s been a bad month for Berkeley restaurants. In a matter of days, a few businesses located on the stretch of Telegraph Ave. near the UC Berkeley campus closed, and now Fat Slice Pizza is the latest restaurant to join the list.

Fat Slice has closed its doors after serving college students for the last 34 years, as first reported by Berkeleyside. A message on the business’ website stated the closure.

“After 34 years in business, we are closing our doors permanently. Thank you to all of our customers over the years, we will miss you and we will miss Telegraph Ave.,” the message reads.

According to Berkeleyside, one of the reasons that led to the closure was a lack of foot traffic coming into their shop.

“We weren’t making money,” Chris Pisarra, a manager at Fat Slice Pizza, told Berkeleyside. “Telegraph Avenue has changed. It’s been bad for years. The last eight months, we haven’t made a profit.”

It’s unclear if the businesses informed its customers about their plans to shutter. We reached out to Fat Slice for comment but did not hear back by the time of publication.

On Yelp, Troy. L. wrote, “I have been coming to Fat Slice since the 80's while shopping for vinyl on [Telegraph]. I'm so sad to see this place go, great pizza and [an] even better hang.” He added, “[Too] much is changing in the East Bay.”

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The Fat Slice Pizza closure comes just days after other Telegraph Ave. business closures. Last Monday, Bacheesos, a family-owned Mediterranean restaurant, closed after 18 years. A five-story, mixed-use complex expected to open next year will go in its place.

Three blocks away, another local business anticipates its closure to make way for a five-story apartment complex. Longtime restaurant Fondue Fred, found inside the dining and retail plaza at 2556 Telegraph Ave., confirmed that they would close as the entire plaza awaits demolition. Their last service is on Dec. 22.

"The culture of the city is changing," owner Laleh Heravi told SFGATE after citing the popularity of food delivery apps as well as Cal students — the bulk of her business — choosing to eat at chains or on campus rather than at small local restaurants. "There's nothing wrong with it. Everything has its limits. Our time is just... we are done."

Gail Giffen founded Fat Slice Pizza back in 1986 after noticing the lack of businesses serving single slices of pizzas. According to Berkeleyside, Pisarra, who is also Giffen’s husband, said that she started the business from the ground up and had no previous experience making pizza.

Throughout the years, Giffen’s restaurant became one of the go-to spots for college students. It will be remembered for serving huge slices at affordable prices.

SFGATE digital reporter Madeline Wells contributed to this report.

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Susana Guerrero is an SFGATE digital reporter. Email: Susana.Guerrero@sfgate.com | Twitter: @SusyGuerrero3