Pizza chain adds new shop in Republic

A New York-style pizzeria with Springfield origins is expanding its Greene County presence with a new location in Republic.

Plans call for The Big Slice LLC’s newest shop to open later this month at 558 E. Harrison St. in the Republic Town Center.

“I’m hoping we’ll open right around Christmas Eve,” said owner Levi Grant. “I figured that’d be a good week to test what I was going to do. I’ve had quite a few people stop by to see if it’s really going to be a Big Slice when I have my van out here.”

Grant, who opened the first Big Slice in 2013 at 1450 E. Sunshine St., estimates startup costs for the Republic store will be roughly $150,000. He signed a five-year lease for around $2,000 per month with Jared Commercial & Management LLC.

The 1,500-square-foot shop formerly was occupied by Lucky Cat Boba Tea and Sweets LLC, which shuttered, Grant said.

The Republic pizzeria’s opening will mark the third Big Slice location of which Grant has ownership, joining the Sunshine Street shop and downtown at Big Slice Golf & Games. Grant, along with Daniel Bryan, Matt Faucett, Jay Hickman and Collin Saddler, co-own the downtown venture, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting. The business, which includes a full bar, arcade games, pinball and indoor golf simulators, originally opened in February 2024 as Bigg Time Arcade LLC but changed names later that year, Grant said.

“We should have done that from the get-go, just because you’re not getting all the recognition from the brand that it is. It’s all Big Slice pizza,” Grant said of the adult-themed arcade’s food menu, which also serves as a Big Slice sister restaurant. “A lot of people didn’t know what it was.”

Just before the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, a second Big Slice location opened in February 2020 off Kansas Expressway and James River Freeway, according to past reporting. The south-side restaurant at 4126 S. Kansas Expressway was launched by Grant and childhood friend Justin Kennedy, who split the initial investment of the new pizzeria.

While Grant said the Kansas Expressway shop isn’t a franchise location, he added Kennedy purchased his share of the store as originally planned for an undisclosed price. Grant said Kennedy became sole owner around February 2024 and its menu is nearly identical to the other Big Slice locations.

Adding a location in Republic has been in Grant’s sights for years.

“I was looking at doing Republic before we actually even did the Kansas location,” he said. “It was either going to go to the south location or out here [in Republic], and then we kind of fell upon a spot out there. So we went that way.”

Still, Grant said a Republic shop possibility reemerged a few months after he started a Big Slice food truck in Rogersville around Valentine’s Day this year. A Rogersville resident, he considered a brick-and-mortar location there but said the Republic location was going to be “a fraction of the cost.”

“So, I figured I’d jump on (Republic) real fast and try to do this one first and then go where I needed to go to next,” he said, noting in October he shut down the food truck, and it remains parked at his residence. “I kind of figured I’d concentrate on [Republic] during the winter at least and see what happens.

“It might go back out; I might sell it,” he said of the food truck. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it yet.”

In the meantime, Grant said he’s awaiting the completion of heating, ventilating and air-conditioning work and final inspections in advance of the Republic location’s launch. He plans to manage roughly 12 employees upon the shop’s opening.

“We’re excited to be out here and we’re ready to start making some good pizza,” he said. “I’m ready to test everything out.”