Say Hello to Martina, Danny Meyer’s Latest Fast-Casual Experiment

Danny Meyer’s latest restaurant, a pizza spot called Martina, looks like it wants to be the next Shake Shack. The Neapolitan-style pizza restaurant, which debuted for friends and family in New York City last night, represents a much more casual spinoff of Marta, Meyer’s first — and until now, only — dedicated pizzeria.

Martina is decidedly fast-casual (although, as Eater NY reports, chef Nick Anderer much prefers the term “fine-casual” for the “churn and burn” model). Like at Shake Shack, guests will order and pick up from the cashier, who will hand them a buzzer while they wait for their pies to finish cooking — a process that takes just two minutes. For to-go orders, which Anderer expects to be plentiful, Martina uses custom boxes that vent steam while keeping the pizza hot.

The 10-inch, thin-crust pies will sell for between $7 and $12, and include Neapolitan styles like a margherita, ortolana (a white pizza with kale and black olives), and capricciosa with artichokes, ham, mushrooms, olives, mozzarella, and a fried egg. The menu also includes fried snacks like potato croquettes, as well as a few salads and heartier non-pizza items, like chicken meatballs.

As Eater NY noted earlier this month, the Martina setup seems built for Shake Shack-like success, but Union Square Hospitality Group has yet to announce plans for expansion. “I’m not ashamed to say that I want to give my pizza to more people,” chef Anderer told Eater NY. “I want more people to get a chance to try it. The only way to do that is to get better and faster at what you do.”

Martina opens to the public later this week. Take a look at some scenes from its friends and family debut below, including a champagne-stocked fridge special for the occasion:

• Inside Martina, Danny Meyer's Shake Shack-Like Approach to Pizza [ENY]