“He’s been helping make pizza since he was three.” Johnathan Khalil’s mom beamed as she confirmed she’s not the “Johnny” for which Albuquerque’s newest New York style pizzeria is named. Johnny is her soon-to-turn-18-year-old son. Can you imagine how cool it would be to be a teenager with a pizza parlor named for him? Johnny must very popular. The pizzeria named for him certainly is. On the day of our inaugural visit–two weeks and one day–after its 29 May 2026 launch, the line was literally out the door. Johnny’s is scantly 1,200 square-feet so accommodating throngs of diners will be a challenge. Five two-top tables set against the walls are all the seating currently available though there is a slightly shaded (at times) patio which the Khalil family plans to expand and provide misters for.
Two things were in evidence when we visited. First, those of us who live in Rio Rancho or Albuquerque’s burgeoning northwest quadrant are jonesing for more great pizza options. Much as we love Thicc Pizza Co., Davido’s, Dion’s, Aldo’s NY Pizzeria and the Turtle Mountain Brewing Company, we like variety and crave more options. Coincidentally, Johnny’s launch day was just about a month after Richie B’s relocated to the City of Vision, giving west-siders yet another alternative. By the way, as of September, 2025 there were 64 pizzeria’s across the fruited plain named Johnny’s Pizza though they’re not affiliated with the Albuquerque location.
Second, the instant hit popularity of Johnny’s Pizza is a testament to the power of social media. How else can you explain the high volume of traffic to diminutive digs whose storefront isn’t visible from any main thoroughfare? Johnny’s is ensconced in the northeast corner of the Golf Course Marketplace at the corner of Golf Course Road, N.W. and McMahon Boulevard. Aside from the Marketplace’s anchor tenant, Smith’s Grocery Store, Johnny’s neighbors include Wings & Things, Perico’s, Rose Garden and Subway. Though there was a December, 2025 article on the Albuquerque Journal announcing Johnny’s upcoming “early next year” launch, the article preceded the actual launch by six months. A phalanx of Facebook posts within hours of Johnny’s opening probably had more impact on traffic than even the Journal.
Though Johnny’s may be new to the Albuquerque area, the Khalil family has been baking pies for metropolitan area diners for more than a decade. The family owned- and-operated Goodfellas Pizza in Albuquerque and Los Lunas, selling both in 2023 to focus on spending time together as a family. That wasn’t the family’s inaugural foray into the competitive pizza wars. Family patriarch Frank Khalil and his brothers owned a number of pizza shops in New York before selling them all and moving to the Land of Enchantment almost twenty years ago. One of Frank’s brothers blazed the path in 2006, launching Sahara Middle Eastern Eatery in the University area.
As with so many pizza purveyors in Albuquerque, Johnny’s is a claimant to New York style pizza. It certainly has the pedigree to back up those claims. New York style pizza (at least within New York City) is large, wide-diameter pie characterized by its thin, hand-tossed crust that is crispy on the edges but soft and pliable enough to fold in half. Buffalo has a pizza style all its own as likely do other areas in the Empire State. Another “New York style” offering is the availability of gelato. In recent years, gelato has become a very popular, high-end dessert pairing in New York City pizzerias–supplementing but not supplanting traditional offerings such as cannoli. Johnny’s offers both gelato and cannoli.
Johnny’s menu belies the shop’s Lilliputian lair, offering a selection of handcrafted pizzas, wings, subs, salads, gelato, and more. Each pizza is “handcrafted with fresh, high-quality ingredients and bold, classic flavors.” Pizza is available in ten- and sixteen-inch sizes. The ten-inch pie is surprisingly larger than most “personal” pizzas, big enough even for me. There are nine specialty pizzas on the menu as well as a “half specialty/half make your own” and a “half/half specialty” pie. The menu includes such unique (for New Mexico) offering as a hot Buffalo chicken pie. Green chile, of course, is available on any pie as is hot honey, once a novelty and now de rigueur in most pizzerias…