Zayda Buddy's Pizza

Zayda Buddy’s offered midwestern comfort in the form of thin-crust pizzas topped with 100% Wisconsin cheese, natural-casing hot dogs made from Wisconsin beef and a selection of canned midwest beers. 

Owner Joel Radin of Capitol Hill’s Bauhaus coffee shop and Top Pot Donuts opened Zayda Buddy’s in honor of his late grandfather, Phil Myzel.  Myzel was a young Lithuanian boy when he immigrated to America in 1921 and moved with his family to a small farm outside of Duluth, Minnesota.  He loved Duluth and became something of a man-about-town in his later years.

The menu at Zayda Buddy’s was meant as a tribute to Myzel, featuring midwestern classics such as tater tot casserole, deep-fried cheddar curds and a delicious beer cheese soup topped with a layer of buttery popcorn. It was open late-night seven days a week, allowing midwestern transplants plenty of opportunity to get a fix of their native cuisine.

Update: Zayda Buddy’s closed in 2016.