Pizzeria Leopold, the Lakewood pizzeria voted home to the best pizza in the Mile High City, has opened a second location in Colorado Springs — and it comes with a rooftop patio overlooking the mountains. The new spot sits in the historic Old Colorado City neighborhood, and it’s already drawing a 4.7-star rating on Google along with lines out the door.
The expansion marks a new chapter for husband-and-wife owners Chris and Lindsay Lyons, who, according to the Denver Gazette named the restaurant after their oldest child, Leopold. The couple, who have four children together, run the business as a family operation that has grown from a single Lakewood storefront into a regional name. Their menu leans on sustainable, local, and organic ingredients alongside imported Italian products, a blend that has become something of a signature for the brand.
A Sandwich Menu That Rivals the Pizza
While Pizzeria Leopold is best known for its pies, the Gazette’s report highlights a nine-item sandwich section the restaurant calls its sangwheech menu, with hot and cold options priced at $18 for a full sandwich and $11 for a half. The Italian hero, served on house-made focaccia, is loaded with ham, salami, capicola, Calabrese salami, provolone, tomatoes, lettuce, peperoncini, oregano, and red wine vinegar. A side of pasta salad runs $4.
The standout, per the same account, is the chicken parm sandwich — a house-breaded cutlet with fresh mozzarella, marinara, and parmesan, served not on a standard sub roll but on a panuozzo bun. That detail matters more than it might sound: panuozzo bread traces back to 1983 in Gragnano, near Naples, where pizzaiolo Giuseppe Mascolo first created the double-baked sandwich by stuffing wood-fired pizza dough with fillings, according to FermentoLab. It remains a recognized regional specialty in Campania rather than a generic deli roll.
From a 30-Year-Old Deli to a Statewide Title
Pizzeria Leopold wasn’t always a pizzeria. Chris and Lindsay Lyons originally took over Deli Italia, a 30-year-old Italian market and sandwich shop at 1990 Wadsworth Blvd. in Lakewood, in 2018, according to Denver Westword. The business didn’t take on its current name until August 2022, when the couple rebranded it after their son, who was born in 2020 just as pandemic indoor-dining restrictions were lifting…