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In the aftermath of Applewood Pizza’s closure at the end of December, rumors are swirling that a new pizza parlor is planning to occupy the downtown Menlo Park building at the corner of Ravenswood Avenue and Menlo Avenue.
According to Community Development Director Mark Muenzer, the city of Menlo Park has been told that the new pizza vendor will be Mountain Mike’s Pizza, but it is still in the process of confirming the details. If the site remains a restaurant with minimal modifications to the exterior and interior, he said, the new tenant likely won’t have to acquire too many additional permits.
By Kate Bradshaw
By Kate Bradshaw
By Kate Bradshaw
Redwood City attorney sues ‘First Amendment auditors’ after Menlo Park disputeApril 2, 2026 11:31 am
Good! The old applewood was disgusting. Time for a much needed facelift and better food!
NOOOO! Mountain Mikes is definitely not a step up. They should go back to that dilapidated A-Frame in Redwood City.
Please DO NOT open in MP. Why does MP always get mediocre food???
Mtn Mike’s left that A-frame some time ago, they’re on El Camino in San Carlos. In case you want some good pizza.
The EXTERIOR of this building is UGLY!
Please do not approve a change of restaurants unless the building appearance is improved.
I agree that the building needs a good cleaning and sprucing up. It’s very dated and worn.
@dana hendrickson I hate to be a pain, but… are you really asking that the power of government be used to force a private business to spend money changing their building to meet your view of what it should look like?
If you think it should look better, you should buy it, or offer to pay for the changes you want.
2 story Oasis?
@david
I ageee with Dana. Building owners should be required to keep up their properties (home owners too) and the city should have a standard and enforce it. The delapidated buildings on ECR are a disgrace.
mountain Mikes !
That does not compare to Applewwod.
If the landlords took care of their properties , rather than asking tenants to do so , maybe we would not have so many places going out of business
Businesses are also required to pay a portion of the property tax as is the case with the empty Plantation in Alameda. Individual Businesses can’t afford to be in Menlo Park . We will be a city of chain /big box stores .
Please Just Say No to Mountain Mikes- With all the good Pizza options available including a few techie ones We don’t need another 70’s Pizza joint with bad Pizza. How about the Oasis folks take over the spot?
Protege in Palo Alto is very good. I would highly recommend it. We also had a great experience at Nobu. It seems menlo is lacking in upscale eateries…
David B.
I am simply expressing an opinion that I hope the new tenant wants to modify the building and our city has some say on the design.
Ouch…I must have hit a nerve….
😉
Perfect location for a Dunkin‘ Donuts or a Krispy Kreme. We got enough high end establishments in MP. We’ve got enough pizza. Too bad Whitecastle isn’t on the West Coast cause we need more burger establishments since Fosters Freeze is gone. Applewood used to have great pizza. I won’t go to Mountain Mikes.
As someone who owns multiple properties in the bay (two of which are in menlo), a few of which are Commerical, I can say to Dana that cities have very little say in the appearance of buildings. If a city objects it usually results in a lengthy court battle and guess who loses—the city! If I were you I would educate myself on the local laws! You certainly shouldn’t imply that the city of mp can do anything to enforce your “vision” for what the building should look like…
PS let’s be honest applewood pizza was mediocre at best
What a bummer. While I was so sad to see Applewood go given the remaining dismal pizza options, can’t we attract something other than a pizza joint in such a prime location? With the upcoming Guild Theater refurb, that several block radius has an opportunity to evolve with our community. A pizza parlor just feels like a missed opportunity. And I totally agree in the need to beautify the building and others in that area. I’d like to see business owners make that investment in our community, recognizing it will also be good for their business!
Landlord:
If the city cannot have any say on the appearance of building modifications (which is a surprise for me as I thought the planning commission exercised some influence) perhaps the owner of the building will simply decide to replace the bathroom tile on the exterior as an act of goodwill. It IS an eyesore!!!
🙂
The obvious reason that Mr Mike of the Mountains is hoping to crash our party with his almost-as-good-as-frozen pizza is that he won’t be a Change Of Use. The minute anything other than an A2 restaurant moves in, then ADA upgrades and everything else in the building code gets triggered.
And yes Dana, the building that is the Gateway to Menlo Park heading north on ECR has the same white tile facade as a dirty public toilet. It would be great to knock it down and start over.
really?:
BINGO!
Why is everyone hating on Moutain Mike’s? We should offer the business an opportunity to come into Menlo Park and compete for a share of the dining out/order out crowd. I presume Mt Mike’s will be an affordable option to some of the pizza places we already enjoy in Menlo Park (e.g., Amici’s). Regarding the look of the building, it definitely can be cleaned up to be more presentable, but that would be the new tenant’s decision and perhaps one way they can attract customers to their venture. Whether it’s Moutain Mike’s or another restaurant, I wish them the best of luck. Menlo Park needs more affordable family eateries.
We need variety beyond another food & beverage establishment. One example: What about a space for the youth of our community – a makerspace, or bowling alley etc. The old Applewood space might not be conducive to those ideas, but we need to think bigger and longer term when these spaces open up. Like the open space next to Kepler’s. When my four year old son is in middle or high school, where does he have to go and hang out with friends? I certainly hope his only options aren’t still Posh Bagel, 7eleven, and Jeffrey’s.
I’ll be a bit disappointed if it turns into a Mountain Mike’s, simply because I don’t think their pizza is very good.
I love all of these arm chair entrepreneurs pitching business ideas without doing any research about the requirements/restrictions associated with moving a business into a new space (parking, accessibility, etc).
Also, that entire block of ECR is a revolving door. The only businesses with any chance to succeed are those with an established brand and repeat customers. Trendy restaurants and kids hangouts need not apply.
Hi ‘Pot Meet Kettle’…let’s not hide behind online pseudonyms and help each other out instead. It just so happens I am a budding entrepreneur who is looking to find a way to give back to the community where I have owned a home for 12 years. If you have seasoned guidance to offer to ensure my success, and thus benefit the community that we both care about, I’d welcome the opportunity to hear. Warm Regards, Julie Hartstein
Mountain Mike’s is cheap, awful pizza. Heck – round table is better. Has historical value also.
The old fashioned Pizza and Pipes place would be fun… or even a hair salon that serves pizza and hot dogs. That would be amazing!
Food + Hair. Blech!!!
It would be great if the famous Golden Boy Pizza on Green St in North Beach would open at the Applewood location. Great Pizza!
I’ve been getting Mountain Mikes “Snowy Alps”(a.k.a. Creamy Garlic Combo) every Tuesday for the past 10 years.I switched to their thin crust version a few years back to cut down on carbs. Since they moved from their A frame to San Carlos, it has been a few miles out of my way. Now, with their takeover of Galeotti’s on Jefferson and the Alameda in RWC, my Tuesday pickup’s will be on my route to Menlo Park. And, when they open in Menlo, Betty and I will go there on Wednesday’s for all-you-can-eat salad and pizza. No more take-out salads from Round Table.
Go Mountain Mike’s!
Ed mentioned Amici’s. They are only a few blocks from home. I pre-paid an on-line order and still had to wait what seemed to be a half hour because of the crowd.
As my Betty say’s “It’s so crowded that nobody goes there anymore.”