I think we all have that pizza place from our childhood that was the place to go after sports games or for birthday parties. You know what I am talking about, right? Subpar pizza, pinball machines, a ball crawl, air hockey, and redemption games. Ah, these places were more like palaces for us as kids.

I am about to share with you a place in the Hillyard district of Spokane called Market Street Pizza.

These days, the joints I just spoke about above are few and far between. Gourmet pizza ristorantes and giants like Dave & Buster’s dominate the market that these blue-collar pizza parlors once claimed. The nostalgia remains but the profit does not.

Another look at the exterior of Market Street Pizza.

Unless of course you can offer modern disguised as nostalgia. That is the formula that Market Street Pizza in the Hillyard district of Spokane has championed.

A glimpse into Market Street Pizza from the front entrance.

My mom’s birthday was yesterday and she requested that we try out Market Street Pizza. It opened rather recently in November 2019 but it had to tangle with the pandemic so many locals are trying it out for the first time. We were in that boat last night.

Beau and grandma enjoying Market Street Pizza.

Our entire family gathered for this special occasion. My parents, my sister and her family, my brother and his wife, and the four of us all gathered at Market Street Pizza. The 13 of us sat around a large round table and celebrated the end of Monday.

The table that we sat at last night.

We admired the spacious and retro-inspired interior. The sectioned areas, checkered décor, classic salad bar set up, and colorful memorabilia made it feel like a parlor of yesteryear. But the old school was balanced with a sophisticated bar, string lights that zigged and zagged throughout the restaurant, and an indoor brick wall that made the place feel warm.

This photo I took shows the brick wall in the background.

Of course, Mikayla, Johnny, Sloan, and Beau couldn’t be kept out of the arcade. They milked us for all our coins and managed to turn the silver into tickets upon tickets.

The arcade was a big hit with our kids.

Let’s be honest, the real draw of Market Street Pizza was its namesake. Each couple chose a pie and then we all shared with each other. Although I enjoyed the carnivore pizza that Sid and I ordered (your classic meat pizza) I thought the Goodfella pizza my parents ordered (olive oil, tomato sauce, meatball, red pepper, multiple cheeses, garlic, and more) was especially on point.

You can’t go wrong with the pizza at Market Street Pizza.

After we ate, the whole staff came out to sing my mom “happy birthday” and present her with a big bowl of ice cream. There was almost enough in that bowl to give everyone at our table a little scoop to go with the cakes that my sister and brother brought.

Market Street Pizza definitely had some charm.

What a nice time we all had at Market Street Pizza. As I have said before, I feel so fortunate that our family is able to consistently get together and have so much fun. I will never take it for granted. But back to Market Street Pizza—if you are ever in Hillyard, give it a try. Don’t Blink.