The signature artwork at Mid City Pizza | Josh Brasted/Eater NOLA
Rand Owens owned Mid City Pizza and Banks Street Bar
Rand Owens, the young founder of one of New Orleans’s top pizza destinations, died at home on Sunday, February 29 at age 33. Relatives told NOLA.com his cause of death has not yet been confirmed.
Owens founded Mid City Pizza in 2013, when he took over a Banks Street pizza parlor formerly known as Lazaro’s after being employed there for some time. A year later he moved his operation across the street, reopening in the space that previously held Crescent Pie & Sausage. It was there Mid City Pizza grew into a laid-back, cozy destination for thin crust pizza known for its colorful artwork and old school arcade games NBA Jam and Simpsons Arcade.
Three years later Owens expanded with a second location on Miro Street, MCP Uptown, where he created a similarly fun vibe and bright aesthetic. In 2018 he bought Banks Street Bar, the nearly half-century old dive bar and music venue across the street from Mid City Pizza, the same building where he first started slinging slices.
On Saturday, friends and family will honor the man they called the “Mayor of Mid City”, and the “King of Banks Street”, with a memorial service at the House of Blues and a nighttime block party between his Banks Street establishments, calling it Festival of Pizza.
Mid City Pizza, MCP Uptown, and Banks Street Bar remain open, with Owens’ sister telling NOLA.com they plan to continue to operate both as Rand would have run them.
- Mid-City Pizza founder Rand Owens dies at 33; Festival of Pizza planned in his memory [NOLA.COM]
- Lazaro’s is Now Mid City Pizza, Check the Paint Job [ENOLA]
- Mid City Pizza To Take Over Former Crescent Pie Spot This Winter [ENOLA]
- Take a First Look at MCP Uptown, a New Pizza Spot on Claiborne [ENOLA]
- Mid-City Pizza Owner Buys Banks Street Bar & Grill [ENOLA]
Source: Eater New Orleans - All
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