Kansas City pizza shop just opened its 5th area location. Now get ready for the 6th

Locally owned Pizza Tascio is expanding again.

Owner Erik Borger opened locations in North Kansas City, Overland Park, 39th Street’s restaurant row in Kansas City and Lawrence in 2022. In April, he opened in the former Pinsa Pizzeria & Kitchen space in Lee’s Summit.

Now he’s taken the former Classic Cookie space at 409 W. Gregory Blvd. in Waldo and hopes to open in June.

Borger was looking for a spot that he thought would be a good next step and checked out Waldo. The next day his real estate agent called about the Classic Cookie space.

“There’s a lot of good neighborhood feel to Waldo, and that’s what we are, a neighborhood pizzeria,” he said. “That’s what I grew up with as a kid in New York, a space that creates lasting memories.”

Classic Cookie closed in January. It operated on the Country Club Plaza before moving to Waldo in 1988.

Borger’s New York style pizzas include pepperoni, three meat (pepperoni, Italian sausage, salami, oregano, mozzarella and red sauce), cheese, supreme, spicy pepperoni, white tomato, white broccoli, veggie, and the Upside Down (cheese first, then sauce, with Parmesan on top).

Borger uses Bianco DiNapoli tomatoes and Italian-style double zero flour. He also has gluten-free options.

Weekly specials can include a bruschetta pizza or calzones.

Pizza Tascio offers a daily special of two slices and a drink for $10, along with pizza by the slice for $4 to $5.

It also has cheesy breadsticks, salad, Nutella pizza for dessert, craft and domestic beers, and sustainable Italian wines.

Borger founded Il Lazzarone, an authentic Neapolitan-style pizza shop in the River Market and St. Joseph, before selling those locations a few years ago. He opened his first Pizza Tascio in St. Joseph in 2021.

This story was originally published May 16, 2023 at 4:30 PM.