Fishtown’s pizza scene is growing, thanks to two new openings and a third on the way

Fishtown’s pizza scene has been building lately, with two Frankford Avenue newcomers joining the date-night standbys Pizzeria Beddia and Wm. Mulherin’s Sons, and the slice shop Pizza Shackamaxon (in Beddia’s original Girard Avenue space).

The result is less a boom than an ecosystem: You can get slices to eat in or take out, sit down for a pie, and enjoy destination dining, all within a short walk.

Marina’s Pizza opened in December at 1425 Frankford Ave. and quickly found a late-night crowd. It is the debut of onetime pro surfer Mason Lesser, whose maternal grandfather, Angelo Lancellotti, owned dozens of local pizza shops over the years. Lesser says his starter is 60 years old and his dough gets a 48-hour fermentation.

Marina’s, named for his mother and grandmother, serves crisp, thin-crust, 18-inch pies with little flop. They combine fresh and low-moisture mozzarella with a restrained tomato sauce — tomatoes, salt, basil, and olive oil — and are finished with pecorino-romano and extra-virgin olive oil.

The signature Riviera brings pepperoni, stracciatella, hot honey, and basil; there is also a vodka sauce version. Other pies include mushroom-truffle with ricotta, the Enzo with sausage, onions, pesto, and ricotta, and a buffalo chicken pie with Red Devil sauce, Gorgonzola crema, chili powder, and scallions. This is not a plain-slice operation so much as an upgraded New York-style pie shop.

Marina’s is open for dine-in, with a communal table and rail seating, as well as pickup. Pizza slices start at $4, while pies range from $22 to $30.

At Liguria, which opened last week at 1826 Frankford Ave., brothers Amro and Sherif Nagud have built a narrow modern-industrial room with the bones of a fast-casual restaurant: exposed ductwork, concrete floors, and simple tables.

A plywood wall, bulb-lit Liguria sign, and red-brick accent wall give it more personality than a standard slice shop. The squeeze bottles of Mike’s Hot Honey are a welcome touch to those who like a little heat.

The pizza list is tight, almost austere, but with a pedigree: There is a cheese pie with San Marzano tomatoes, scamorza, and mozzarella; a white pie with mozzarella, scamorza, and ricotta; and four others — a tomato pie with 24-month-aged Vacche Rosse Parmigiano-Reggiano; mushroom with crème fraîche, onion, and scamorza; pepperoni with long hots and Mike’s Hot Honey; and a rich “broken burrata” with San Marzano tomato. Blobs of stracciatella are spooned on as it’s finished with arugula and six-year-aged balsamic.

Overall, this is pizza framed less as comfort food than as composed dish. Prices range from $21 for the cheese to $30 for the mushroom and broken burrata. Slices are available, too, starting at $4.

The brothers said they traveled to New York pizzerias and were drawn to thin, crisp, light crusts.

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“We found a gap in the Philadelphia pizza scene,” Sherif Nagud said. “There are places here doing phenomenal work, but …”

For now, Liguria also has a small sandwich menu of just a steak, cheesesteak, chicken cheesesteak, and buffalo chicken cheesesteak, all on rolls from Boaggio’s Bread in Mount Laurel. They’re priced from $16 to $18.

Sherif, 37, is an electrical engineer who previously worked in pizza. Amro, 33, has spent about 15 years in the business and recently sold two pizzerias. Both once worked for their brother Mo, a partner in Verona Pizza in Maple Glen, Montgomery County, but all insist that Liguria has no connection to that shop.

Another pizzeria is on the way to Fishtown. The recently closed Vince’s Pizzeria, on the lower end of Frankford Avenue across from the Fillmore, is expected to become In Crust We Trust.

It will be the pizzeria debut of Anyae Wilson-Worley, 25, who was inspired by the history of Black Philadelphia in both the decor and the inspiration for the menu at 965 Frankford Ave. She said she will serve New York-style pies with such twists as cornbread-dusted crust, sweet potato crust, and toppings including collard greens. “When people walk in, I want them to feel like a story is being told,” she said. The menu also will include salads, cheesy pull-apart bread, and fried ravioli, but no sandwiches.

Wilson-Worley, a University of Miami graduate who studied health science and premed, said she got a taste of the business while traveling between Miami and Philadelphia to help her mother, Felicia Wilson, whose restaurants include Amina, Avana, BlackHen Fried Chicken, and First Daughter Oyster Co. Wilson-Worley said In Crust We Trust is her own business, independent of her mother’s.

Nadia Bilynsky of MPN represented the landlord on the lease and Billy Creagh of National Realty represented Wilson-Worley.