September 22nd was the last day that any customer would again step foot in the Mid Rivers Pizza Street. Many of the former customers were left with unanswered questions of why the location shut down and what is yet to come for Pizza Street as a franchise.

“There is really no specific reason, overall there just wasn’t enough money,” former Pizza Street owner Dennis Tran said. “I did my best to serve the community and do what I could for 13 years, but with the times changing it just couldn’t survive.”

There are still five Pizza Street locations in existence with three in Missouri and two located in Kansas.

It came as a shock to corporate that the Mid Rivers Pizza Street location was able to stay afloat for as long as it did.

“It was expected to close down after year 3 or 4 but the families kept coming in and carried it through. Realistically it should have closed down a long time ago,” Tran said.    

Pizza Street survived through the families who continued to come in and the dedication of the employees who worked there.

“To get this far was a lot of hard work, but I guess in the end the fruits of my labor were just never carried out,” Train said.

Pizza Street gave jobs to multiple students in the area.

“They gave me a job when I needed one and gave me an outlet to be hardworking. It was a place where I could learn from mistakes and grow,” senior Eli Humes said.

Many students went to visit Pizza Street for a final time before it closed, some of which being seniors Ryan Olwig, Nate Wilhelm, and Zach French.

“That place held a lot of memories and it was always fun to go. There was below average food honestly, but you’d always have an above average time,” Olwig said.

“The pizza was so bad, but I loved it every time. Pizza Street was just iconic to Cottleville,” Wilhelm said.

“Officially, I was the last Pizza Street customer to ever walk out those doors,” French said. “It was a trip, I can’t really say I’ll miss it but I will have to thank it for the good times.”

Due to the low prices and encouraged family atmosphere Pizza Street was a large part of many students childhoods.

“We always used to go there when I was younger, and it was a total trash-pit but it was so much fun and we loved pigging out on pizza,” senior Kennidy Shirey said.

“We used to go every week, the food was good, the service was good, the whole vibe of the place was amazing. It was a huge part of the community,” freshman Clayton Davis said.

“That was the elementary school hot spot, it feels like a part of your childhood is closing down. It’s sad,” junior Santino Bono said.

Copious amounts of community members have expressed that Pizza Street was a beloved place with many memories, and it will be missed.