Back in 2005, when Garrett Brizendine was a marketing student at Johnson & Wales University, he adopted the Anthony’s Pizza & Pasta store at East 29th Avenue and Roslyn Street as his own.
“I lived in President’s Hall at the corner of 17th and Quebec, about five minutes away,” Brizendine said, “so that Anthony’s was our staple.”
The delightfully chewy, New York-style crust, gooey cheese and tart sauce made him a lifelong fan, as it had already done for countless Denverites, many of whom tried the famous pizza style — and its enormous triangular slices — for the first time at Anthony’s.
Now in its 40th year — the business was founded in 1984 by Henry Mann — Anthony’s remains one of the most successful and longest-running food concepts in a state known for its fast-casual pioneering. Sales last year hit $15.2 million for the entire brand, which counts 350 or so employees and 19 locations, and are forecast to hit $16.3 million in revenue this year.
Anthony’s Pizza & Pasta owner Garrett Brizendine at the Anthony’s location at 700 Colorado Blvd., on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post) Brizendine didn’t know any of that in 2021, however, when his beloved Central Park location was put up for sale during the pandemic by the former owners. He had already been looking for a restaurant to invest in, he noted, and was happy to snap up the corporate-owned location.