With its five locations run by a Colorado Springs family, Louie’s Pizza offers decent, honest pizza at prices that have kept customers coming back for more since 1985.
The downtown Louie’s sits on the corner next to a bicycle shop called Left Side Spin, a wry name in the famously conservative city. Inside, there’s a small platform for bands and open- mic nights.
The space is long and railroad-narrow, with hanging green lights and brick walls. A handful of tables surround the platform stage, yielding to an aisle with long, stainless-steel counters and leggy chairs on one side, and the open kitchen on the other.
There’s no wait staff, so place your order at the counter. The fountain drink station used to be self-serve, too, but the owners cut off access after customers helped themselves overenthusiastically. (A public high school and Colorado College are both within walking distance.)
Louie’s stock in trade is its flavored-crust pizzas — plain, sesame, butter, poppyseed, rye, garlic and, for those tossing their cholesterol levels to the winds, butter-cheese. The kitchen experiments a bit with toppings — barbecue, chicken or veggie alfredo, taco — but apart from the barbecue/bacon/cheddar combo that sounds like the equivalent of mixing every kind of soda, they’re relatively tame by today’s standards.
The garlic crust, earthy and slightly chewy, is a good foil for a basic 10-inch veggie pie ($9.59, eight slices), generous enough to sate two. Louie’s really loads on the cheese; ask for a scanty handful if you’re watching calories.
While pizza is the main attraction, the pasta is a bargain, with portions ample enough to feed two for less than $10 each. The pizza subs are a deal too; they’re sandwich versions of the pizza toppings offered (minus the barbecue version).
Louie’s Pizza
Pizza, calzone, pasta, sub sandwiches
11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays; 11 a.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays
4815 Barnes Road, Colorado Springs; 791-591-5241
1146 E. Fillmore St., Colorado Springs; 719-473-0060
333 N. Tejon St., Colorado Springs; 719-635-5565
2771 Briargate Blvd., Colorado Springs; 719-260-5555
5996 Stetson Hills Blvd., Colorado Springs; 719-597-5991
