The Original Red’s Savoy Pizza at 421 Seventh St. E. was a local staple for most of its 52 year history. The restaurant was a place people flocked to for great pizza and great conversation. It was a link between downtown and the city’s east side and between its old and new worlds. Families with young children shared pizza moments alongside long-time regulars at this iconic St. Paul classic.
Earl “Red” Schoenheider bought the restaurant in 1965. A former bouncer and bartender at the Savoy Inn, a sometimes rowdy blue-collar bar at the same location, purchased it from the Morelli family. Soon after, he bought Sorini’s Pizza next door and expanded his establishment. After tweaking the recipe, the location’s super cheesy, slightly spicy, square-cut pizza with the garlic powder-dusted crust became a neighborhood staple.
Red’s Savoy became known as one of the originators of the cheese and topping-rich, square-cut, thin cracker crust “Minnesota-style” pizza. The recipe for its sauce became a closely guarded secret that remains so today.