New moniker hasn't been picked yet, but name change might include public input



Mikey's Late Night Slice's signature sauce is getting a new name soon. Crave file photo

The signature sauce at Mikey's Late Night Slice will be getting a name change. The moniker shift has been rumored for months now, but owner Mike "Mikey" Sorboro spoke out recently in response to a petition on change.org. The petition - which has 138 signers as of Friday morning - calls for the pizza shop to change the name of the signature sauce and the TITS trucks ("Tactical Ingredient Transport System").

Although an official announcement has yet to be made, Jason Biundo, co-owner of Mikey's and the pizza company's chief creative officer, confirmed Friday morning the name change is coming soon.

"We planned out our year before any of this happened and one of the things we had decided to do is to phase out the Slut Sauce [name]," Biundo said. "It is offensive and there are a lot of people that got the joke and didn't take offense to it, but we're growing up and are getting beyond that humor. We still intend to keep the edge and be cheeky."

As for a new name, Biundo said the company has a few ideas and is considering opening the renaming up to the public.

"We're going to try to make it fun," Biundo said. "There's a lot of support for us, but we're going to try to do something interactive but nothing I can talk about yet. Everything in the company is waiting for our new location to be open. We have a new menu to unveil, new food. It's our first bar, full-service restaurant, and everything we do, all the changes we make, are centered on that. But [the name change] is coming."

Sorboro first confirmed the name change through a comment shared on the petition page.

"I truly appreciate the passion on both side of this issue," Sorboro said in the comment. "'Slut' IS an offensive term that IS gender specific. I realize this and we have plans to change the name of the Slut Sauce. We've had plans to do this since we set our yearly goals back in January."

The company has already been using an alternative name - "The Infamous Sauce" - during catering events for schools and other communities.

Sorboro also said in his statement that, while the company will retain its irreverent edge, it's growing up some ways. "From my perspective, we no longer need the name," he said. "We're established enough that it's no longer necessary and may only hinder future growth into new markets. It's a business decision. This decision has absolutely nothing to do with the petition. It doesn't matter to me if the petition has 5 supporters or 500,000. It was our decision to make when we did it 6 months ago and we'll make the change our own way, at our own pace. My mother always told me to choose the hills you're willing to die on and keeping the name Slut Sauce around just isn't one of those hills."

Nick Dekker contributed to this report.