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For this West Chester pizza with crispy crust, you’ll have to walk in

Pizza West Chester has no phone, no website, and no app. It's walk-ins only. And you need cash. And a way to crack the code.

A plain pizza at Pizza West Chester. Owner Speer Madanat knows full well that his pies are well-done, and that is the way he does them.
A plain pizza at Pizza West Chester. Owner Speer Madanat knows full well that his pies are well-done, and that is the way he does them.Read moreMICHAEL KLEIN / Staff

When you make one thing, you’d better do it right, and Speer Madanat is doing just that at his new pizzeria at 136 E. Market St. in downtown West Chester.

Madanat wanted to call the shop “Pizza,” and that’s what the sign he commissioned says. But pizza is not exactly a trade name, so he and his brother, Joe, have settled on Pizza West Chester. It opened Oct. 6, 2021.

Pizza is all he serves — by the slice or the whole pie. There are no salads, no arancini, not even a garlic knot. Madanat keeps odd weekday hours. He has no phone, no email, and no website. It is open only for walk-in ordering. You have a choice of plain or pepperoni. No mushrooms, green peppers, or anchovies. Just 16-inch pizzas with the thinnest of bottom crusts and the crispiest outer crust you’re likely to find anywhere. And among the most well-done pizzas this side of Anthony’s Coal-Fired; each of his pies has a decided char and that’s the way he does it, take it or leave it.

The ingredients, he says, are the best you can buy: two different mozzarellas, Jersey tomatoes, Ezzo pepperoni. When he started nailing the recipe, he and Joe looked for a shop and found this former bakery.

The counter is set up so customers can get a good view of the process. “They get to see their pizza being made through clear [oven] doors,” he said. “They see me add the Grana Padana at the end. I hand over every pie with eye contact. I want them to have this pizza. I worked very hard to get it where it’s at.”

Madanat says he is not looking for regional glory, just to be a neighborhood place. The quirky setup, which includes a small counter for scarfing, is designed to make you feel “like you’re joining a VIP club,” he said

To crack the code, follow @pizzawestchester on Instagram and enable post and story notifications. The loose hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday and Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.