Clay Martin has been coming to Leo’s once a month since his first semester in college, Fall 2015, for his “sweet and sour” Greek slice. Topped with feta cheese, banana peppers and olives, the Greek has been Martin’s favorite slice since the beginning.
“I plan on buying a full Greek pizza on the day they’re done,” he said. “It’s been my go-to, I can’t do it a disservice at the end.”
That day might be closer. UF announced it will replace Leonardo’s Pizza By the Slice with a new School of Music.
UF spokesperson Margot Winick wrote in an email that the roughly 120,000-square foot building will include a recital hall and parking. The construction date is to be determined, and she does not know when Leonardo’s will close.
The restaurant remains open for business. Winick said UF already renewed Leonardo’s lease for another year and might renegotiate to extend it again.
“We at UF are all big fans of Leonardo’s Pizza,” she said.
But for Martin, 20, it’s not just about the pizza, it’s about the place.
“You can eat a piece of pizza in your bedroom, or you can eat a piece of pizza in a cool place with cool people,” he said. His four friends erupted in laughter with him.
The UF architecture junior said there’s no other place for him and his friends to go.
“Leo’s legacy is coming on an off day with some close friends, reading the newspapers on the wall, looking at the skateboards and letting pizza take all your problems away,” he said.
The UF Foundation bought the restaurant, at 1245 W University Ave., in August 2016, according to Alligator archives. The university also owns Kangaroo Express gas station next to the restaurant.
The building is estimated to cost $55 million, Winick said. The university secured $6 million from last year’s state legislative session and will seek more legislative funding in the future. The current School of Music building will likely be repurposed for faculty offices or UF programs, she said.
Although he doesn’t want to see his favorite pizza place go, UF School of Music director Kevin Orr is excited for the new building.
Orr said the new location will make the school’s free concerts more accessible to the Gainesville community. The current music building, which opened in 1971, has inefficient air-conditioning and heating systems, which make the school’s climate difficult to control, he said
“That’s terrible for the millions of dollars worth of instruments inside this building,” Orr said.
Brian Johnson, one of the owners of Leonardo’s, said he hopes to stay on the corner of university for as long as possible, but plans to reopen at another location when closing day comes.
Johnson said that even in a new location, Leonardo’s will be the same. But it will be the end of the original location.
“The product would be the same, the equipment would be the same, the staff would hopefully be the same," he said, "but it’s definitely going to be the end of a legacy."
Contact Amanda Rosa at arosa@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter at @AmandaNicRosa.
Contact Christina Morales at cmorales@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter at @Christina_M18.
Edgar Hathaway, shift manager at Leonardo’s Pizza by the Slice, puts tomatoes on a pizza in 2010.
