'Gay Pizza' reopening as Pizzeria Cappelli

"Gay Pizza" is coming back, straight away.

The shuttered late-night slice destination 13th Street Gourmet Pizza (209 S. 13th St.) - known in the Gayborhood as "Homo Hut" and "Gay Pizza" - is being revived.

Mike and Andrew Cappelli of Cappelli Brothers Cigar Co. next door said they did not want to see the pizzeria empty after the city had shut it down in June for lacking licenses.

They've cleaned it up and plan to soft-open as Pizzeria Cappelli on Friday, Aug. 21 and Saturday, Aug. 22, keeping hours both days of 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. They will offer free slices of plain pizza to the first 100 people each night. "We just want to get our feet wet," said Mike Cappelli.

Pizzeria Cappelli's regular hours - 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. daily - will start Wednesday, Aug. 26.

"We're not reinventing the wheel here," said Andrew Cappelli, referring to the pizza. "We want to improve the quality and customer service and prices."

For now, they're keeping the menu to pizza only ($3 a slice for plain). By the first week of the NFL's regular season, they expect to add wings. After that, they plan to create a menu that will be served only at their cigar lounge next door.

Pizzeria Cappelli's decor is a work-in-progress and will include a nod to the shop's place in the LGBT community. Instead of a "Homo Hut" window sign, the Cappellis plan to add a 7-by-15-foot rainbow flag inside.