Uncle Frico's Pizza, the bar-pie spinoff from the team behind Sexton's Pizza, will open Aug. 26, at 222 W. Lane Ave. in Upper Arlington.
Co-owner Joey Sexton confirmed the date to 614now.com. The thin-crust concept has been in the works for years.
Uncle Frico's will specialize in bar pie, an ultra-thin style of pizza originally served in taverns along the East Coast. The name nods to both Uncle Rico from the film "Napoleon Dynamite" and the crispy, caramelized cheese rim (called frico) that forms when melted cheese meets the edge of a hot pan.
Joey and his brother Jamie Sexton, who co-own Sexton's Pizza, previously offered a version of bar pie on their menu. They dropped it after demand for their regular New York-style pies surged following an 8.1 score from Dave Portnoy's One Bite Pizza Reviews in 2023.
"Frico's bar pies became a fan favorite at Sexton's, and we saw an opportunity to give them a home of their own," Joey Sexton said in an Aug. 3 statement to Columbus Underground when the concept was first announced.
The 1,784-square-foot restaurant sits on the ground floor of the Rambler Columbus student housing complex, which opened in 2025 and has more than 800 residents on site. Uncle Frico's will offer dine-in, grab-and-go and online ordering, plus direct service into the adjacent Victory Lap sports bar through an order window.
As we reported Aug. 4, the restaurant had begun taking orders but had not yet set a grand-opening date. The Aug. 26 date now makes it official.
Upcoming community events
- Saturday, Aug. 29: Grandview Hop, 5–9 p.m., Grandview Avenue
- Monday, Sept. 7: Upper Arlington Labor Day Arts Festival, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Northam Park. Free admission, juried art, live music and food vendors.
- Wednesdays: Upper Arlington Farmers Market, 3–6 p.m., Dorset Road at Tremont Center
