When Monica Mesecar heard there was a new pizza restaurant opening on campus, she was a little skeptical. But after the junior tried a ‘White’ pizza during the grand opening of Pizza Pi on Friday, she was sold.
“I originally wasn’t sure because we already have so many options for pizza on campus but they have some different ones,” she said. “I do like ‘White’ pizza and unless I go over to Blaze on Eddy Street, I can’t get one of them.” 
According to its website, Pizza Pi will be open from 11 a.m. to midnight Wednesdays and Thursdays. On Fridays and Saturdays, it will stay open until 2 a.m. and on Sundays, it will operate between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. On Mondays and Tuesdays, the restaurant will be closed.
Campus Dining hosted an evening of games, music and giveaways Friday to celebrate the opening of Pizza Pi. Serving hand-crafted pizzas, piadinas and salads, the restaurant also features a bar, which will be open during the evenings on weekends.
“For a lot of our students last year, they weren’t able to see this after we closed Reckers,” director of Campus Dining Chris Abayasinghe said. “So, we just felt, especially with the first weekend back, that we’d also tie this in. So maybe seniors can come here and enjoy their pizza and those of age can enjoy their beverage of choice and then maybe go to Flick on the Field and kind of have a very wholesome experience.”
During roughly the first hour of the event, about 50 students stopped by, senior Katie McGuire, a Campus Dining brand ambassador, said.
After about the first hour of the event, juniors Auna Walton and Jordan Brown came to Pizza Pi with a group of friends to try the food.
Between bites of a 'Perfect Pesto' pizza, Brown admired the design of the restaurant, whose new booths, tables and redecorated walls come in a grey, black and navy color scheme.
“The interior’s real nice,” she said. “It has a more modern [look].”
Walton, who ordered a pepperoni pizza, was also happy with her experience at the restaurant.
“I got my food quicker now than I did in Reckers,” she said.
Mesecar, who came to the restaurant with juniors Mary Treacy and Michelle Tapp, thought the quality of food was better at Pizza Pi than its predecessor, but said the new restaurant was on the pricier side of campus food joints.
“A lot of the dining options we have on campus are in a higher-tier price range, with the exception of Taco Bell and Subway,” she said. “I think Reckers was also a little bit more homey. This feels a lot more restaurant-y which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but you might not get as many students coming in here to do homework.”
Sophomore MJ Haak said while he was not happy when Campus Dining decided to close Reckers, he was impressed by Pizza Pi. He added that he hopes the new restaurant will fill the void of the old food joint, which was known for its late hours, even after it announced it would no longer be open 24/7.
“That was definitely the nicest thing about Reckers, that no matter when, you could always go there and get a snack,” Haak said. “So I hope this place provides that same kind of service.”
Following Reckers’ replacement, students weigh in on Pizza Pi during grand opening
Students gathered at the grand opening for Pizza Pi on Friday.
