---
title: "The Iconic New York Slice Shop That's Franchising (Prince St. Pizza)"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/82c60e5b-16e9-47dd-ba9c-a92a4c7fa5fc
source: "Empires Weekly"
original_url: https://empirespod.substack.com/p/the-iconic-new-york-slice-shop-thats
author: "Patrick Buckley"
category: "Pizza"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Pizza"
published: 2026-05-28T12:03:52.000Z
modified: 2026-10-31T13:17:54.370Z
image: https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1Hj4!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc64bdae6-29b2-41f4-b757-9768bac815b4_1280x1280.png
---

# The Iconic New York Slice Shop That's Franchising (Prince St. Pizza)

**TL;DR:** Prince Street Pizza, a viral New York City institution, is expanding across the U.S. through a highly selective franchising strategy. The brand's CEO and co-owner, Lawrence Longo, is leading the expansion, leveraging the brand's significant social media presence and celebrity following.

*By Patrick Buckley, originally published in Empires Weekly on 2026-05-28. [Read the original](https://empirespod.substack.com/p/the-iconic-new-york-slice-shop-thats).*

## Story

Prince Street Pizza went from a single NYC slice shop to one of the most viral pizza brands in America. In this episode, Prince Street Pizza CEO & co-owner Lawrence Longo breaks down how the brand exploded through Instagram, celebrity co-signs, and its iconic Spicy Spring slice. He’s now leading the brand's expansion across the U.S. with a highly selective franchising strategy.

00:00 Intro 01:11 How Sean Avery Introduced Lawrence to Prince Street Pizza 02:33 How Instagram Made Prince Street Go Viral 05:12 Why the Spicy Spring Slice Became Iconic 06:32 The 2018 LA Pop-Up That Changed Everything 08:03 The Crazy History of Original Ray’s Pizza 10:40 How Prince Street Created Its Signature Pizza 12:16 The Truth About New York Water & Pizza 14:28 The Story Behind Off The Menu 17:13 Secret Menu Items & Viral Food Marketing 21:55 Why In-N-Out Calls It Animal Style 24:55 Dave’s Hot Chicken & Secret Menu Innovation 25:50 How the Prince Street LA Pop-Up Went Viral 30:11 Convincing The Founders To Expand Nationally 32:01 Lessons From Opening Restaurants With No Experience 34:31 Opening Prince Street During COVID 37:22 Why Frank Shut Down A Store Over Pepsi 39:57 Todd Graves’ Advice About “Craveable” Food 41:13 Expanding Prince Street Across America 45:28 Scaling Premium Pizza Without Losing Quality 48:46 Training Pizza Makers & Maintaining Standards 51:22 The New “Naughty Slice” & Hot Honey Trend 54:04 Pizza Wars, Haters & Restaurant Competition 56:11 Why Prince Street Only Works With Elite Operators 58:42 The Dave’s Hot Chicken Partnership 01:03:27 What Prince Street Looks For In Franchise Partners 01:06:24 The Home Alone Marketing Collaboration 01:09:02 Why Pizza Chains Are Struggling Today 01:12:49 Choosing The Right Locations For Growth 01:16:30 The Future Of Prince Street Pizza 01:17:38 Lawrence’s Biggest Influence & Final Thoughts

## Entities

- QSR (sector)
- national expansion (topic)
- Dave's Hot Chicken (company)
- Empires Weekly (publication)
- Patrick Buckley (person)
- In-N-Out (company)
- Todd Graves (person)
- social media presence (topic)
- franchising expansion (topic)
- Lawrence Longo (person)
- Prince Street Pizza (company)
- Sean Avery (person)

---
Originally reported by Patrick Buckley, Empires Weekly (https://empirespod.substack.com/p/the-iconic-new-york-slice-shop-thats). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/82c60e5b-16e9-47dd-ba9c-a92a4c7fa5fc).