It was Westport’s longtime place to go ‘after that party at the bar.’ Now it’s closed

One of Westport’s oldest eateries has shut its doors.

Joe Addington opened Joe’s Pizza Buy the Slice, at 4058 Pennsylvania Ave., in early 1998. It had its own entrance and a small dining room, as well as an order window inside Kelly’s Westport Inn.

Its tagline: The Little Pizza Shop in the back of Kelly’s.

Since the pandemic, the dining area has been closed, replaced by a walk-up window on Pennsylvania.

Specialty pizzas included barbecue chicken, bacon cheeseburger deluxe with onion straws, and the Big XII with pork sausage, beef, Italian sausage, three cheeses and sliced almonds.

“We would serve a hot, fresh slice of pizza very, very quickly,” Addington said. “We were a destination for a lot of people. They knew they were going to Joe’s after that party at the bar.”

It was popular with the lunch crowd as well. “Lunch served very quick was an important thing,” he said.

But his hours were long — 5 p.m. until sometimes 4 a.m. or later, as lines snaked across the blocked off Pennsylvania on weekends.

Addington said he missed many family events. Now he wants to retire to spend more time with his five grandchildren, along with hobbies such as yardwork, model trains, woodworking and chess.

“But I enjoy talking to customers all the time. I met several new people last night. The interaction with people I will miss a lot,” he said Sunday.

A new, locally owned deli concept is in negotiations to take the Westport space, he said. But officials with Kelly’s said they couldn’t comment until the lease was signed.

This story was originally published November 1, 2021 at 5:00 AM.