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Draft:Boxcar Pizza

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Boxcar Pizza
Restaurant information
EstablishedAugust 2020 (2020-08)
Owner(s)Odie O'Connor
CityPortland
CountyMultnomah
StateOregon
CountryUnited States

Boxcar Pizza is a vegan pizzeria in Portland, Oregon, United States. Odie O'Connor opened the restaurant in August 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The business operates in The Zipper, a mixed-use development in the northeast Portland part of the Kerns neighborhood.

Description

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The vegan restaurant Boxcar Pizza serves Detroit-style pizza in the food hall of The Zipper, a mixed-use development on Sandy Boulevard in the northeast Portland part of Portland, Oregon's Kerns neighborhood. Pizza ingredients include coconut oil-based mozzarella, seitan bacon, gluten-free soy curl chicken, and vegetable protein sausage, as well as blue cheese and ricotta made with tofu.[1]

The cheeseburger pizza has cheddar and mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, pickles, red onion, and burger sauce.[2] The Ape Dos Mil has red sauce, basil, mozzarella, and parmesan.[3] The Bianca has Good Planet mozzarella, an Italian sauce with fennel, and tofu-based ricotta.[4][5] The Green Supreme has red sauce, Mama Lil's hot peppers, and kale, and the Jimmy Pesto Special is a tribute to the Italian restaurant owner on the animated sitcom Bob's Burgers with cheddar, mozzarella, jalapeños, pesto, vegetable protein "pepperoni", and hot agave syrup.[6] The Steaky Break Heart has steak, cheddar, mozzarella, pickled red onions, and a cilantro lime aioli.[3] The Strings of Nashville has vegan Nashville hot chicken nuggets, pickles, and ranch.[7] Boxcar has gluten-free and "alternative diet" options.[8]

The restaurant's seating capacity is approximately 100 people (which was reduced to approximately 40 people during the pandemic because of social distancing requirements.[9] Boxcar's logo depicts Homer, the owner's Australian Cattle Dog.[1]

History

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Odie O'Connor opened Boxcar in August 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic.[1][10][11] Boxcar has been described as a Portland's first vegan Detroit-style pizzeria[12] and a "sister" establishment to O'Connor's defunct restaurant Baby Blue Pizza,[2] which closed in 2022.[13] In 2023, Eater Portland said Baby Blue sometimes appears as a pop-up at Boxcar.[14]

In April 2021, Boxcar closed for a weekend after a couple refused to wear face masks.[15][16] For Pizza Week in 2023, the restaurant served a special called the Birria Pie, which had a plant-based birria, cheddar, mozzarella, cilantro, onion, and a side of consommé.[17] For the same promotion in 2024, Boxcar served a special pizza called the Smash or Pass, which had vegan beef, cheddar, mozzarella, lettuce, onion, sesame seeds, and burger sauce.[18]

Reception

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Boxcar was nominated for best pizzeria by VegNews.[19] The business ranked third in the Best Vegan Pizzeria category of the magazine's annual Restaurant Awards in 2024.[20] Tasting Table included Boxcar in a 2024 list of the 24 "top-rated" restaurants for vegan pizza in the U.S.[21]

In her 2020 review for the Portland Mercury, Suzette Smith wrote, "The crust at Boxcar (I got the regular, not the gluten-free) is a pillowy delight, but perhaps not crunchy enough to rival the true Detroit pizza crust. To be honest, that feels like the best of both worlds. Boxcar started as Detroit-style pizza, but landed on a cloud of puffy crust that is perfectly wonderful in its own right."[22] Katherine Chew Hamilton and Karen Brooks included Boxcar in Portland Monthly's 2021 overview of the city's best new vegan restaurants, food carts, and pop-ups.[2] Boxcar was also included in The Oregonian's 2022 list of Portland's ten best new "pandemic-time" pizzerias.[6]

Waz Wu included Boxcar in Eater Portland's 2021 list of the city's "exciting" new vegan and vegetarian restaurants and 2023 overview of the city's "knockout" vegan pizza.[12][14] Brenna Houck included the business in the website's 2025 list of Portland's eighteen best vegan and vegetarian restaurants.[4] Boxcar was a runner-up in the Best Pizza category of Willamette Week's annual 'Best of Portland' readers' poll in 2024.[23] Krista Garcia included the business in The Infatuation's 2024 overview of Portland's best pizza.[24]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Wu, Waz (2020-08-21). "A Vegan, Detroit-Style Pizzeria Opens in the Zipper This Weekend". Eater Portland. Retrieved 2025-02-01.
  2. ^ a b c "Portland's Best New Vegan Restaurants, Food Carts, and Pop-Ups". Portland Monthly. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  3. ^ a b Martinez, Jocelyn; Flink, Tanya. "18 Vegan Pizzas You Have to Try: From Deep Dish to New York-Style". VegNews.com. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  4. ^ a b Pinsky, Rachel (2021-04-26). "Where to Find Thick, Cheesy Square Pizzas in Portland". Eater Portland. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  5. ^ "Explore Portland's Plant-Based Paradise for a Day". Willamette Week. 2022-10-12. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  6. ^ a b "These are Portland's 10 best new pandemic-time pizzerias". The Oregonian. 2022-02-22. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  7. ^ "Boxcar Pizza - Review - Kerns - Portland, OR". The Infatuation. 2024-10-03. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  8. ^ Novak, Cole (2024-09-25). "Portland Pizza Veteran to Bring Specialty Pizza Shop to Oceanside". San Diego Magazine. Retrieved 2025-02-02. It led him to launch Boxcar, a vegan pizza shop offering gluten-free and alternative diet options.
  9. ^ Axworthy, Nicole. "Detroit-Style Vegan Pizza Shop to Open in Oregon". VegNews.com. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  10. ^ Gebel, Meira (2024-09-24). "What Odie O'Connor of Portland's Boxcar Pizza would eat for his last meal". Axios. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  11. ^ Jackson-Glidden, Brooke (2020-07-17). "The Portland Independent Restaurant Alliance Calls for a Boycott of Grubhub". Eater Portland. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  12. ^ a b Wu, Waz (2021-03-15). "Portland's Exciting New Vegan and Vegetarian Restaurants". Eater Portland. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  13. ^ Wu, Waz (2022-01-10). "Vegan Pizza Cart Baby Blue Will Close at the End of the Month". Eater Portland. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  14. ^ a b Wu, Waz (2018-10-17). "Where to Find Knockout Vegan Pizza in Portland". Eater Portland. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  15. ^ Allison, Megan (2021-04-12). "Portland pizza restaurant closes over weekend after staff say couple refuses to wear masks". KATU. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  16. ^ Jackson-Glidden, Brooke (2021-04-12). "Vegan Pizzeria Boxcar Says a Customer Spat in an Employee's Drink After Being Told to Wear a Mask". Eater Portland. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  17. ^ "Pickle, peach and potato pies in store for Portland Pizza Week". KOIN.com. 2023-04-19. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  18. ^ "$3 slices during Portland's Pizza Week 2024". kgw.com. 2024-04-15. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  19. ^ "Vegan, Wood-Fired Pizza Cart Baby Blue Announces It Will Close at the End of January". Willamette Week. 2022-01-10. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  20. ^ Bowie, Richard. "The 2024 VegNews Restaurant Award Winners: Readers Pick America's Best Vegan Hot Spots". VegNews.com. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  21. ^ Ayomari (2024-01-06). "24 Top-Rated Spots To Get Vegan Pizza In The US". Tasting Table. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  22. ^ Smith, Suzette. "Takeout Club: A Former Detroiter's Review of Two New Detroit-Style Pizzerias". Portland Mercury. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  23. ^ "2024 Best of Portland Readers' Poll: Food". Willamette Week. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  24. ^ "The 18 Best Pizza Places In Portland - Portland, OR". The Infatuation. 2024-10-03. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
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