Alleycat's Pizza, usually referred to simply as Alleycat's, is a
pizzeria
A pizzeria is a restaurant focusing on pizza. As well as pizza, dishes at pizzerias can include kebab, salads and pasta.
Many pizzerias offer take-away, where the customer orders their food either in advance or at the restaurant and then take ...
chain restaurant that started in
Taipei, Taiwan
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...
, in 2004. From its humble origins in the tiny basement level of a building on Lishui Street, it had expanded to Twelve locations throughout Taipei. As of 2019 there are only two remaining locations in Taiwan.
History
Alleycat's was started in 2004 by Alan Pontes, a
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
n
expatriate
An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...
with
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
family roots. The dearth of
Italian pizza available in Taiwan gave Pontes the idea of starting his own pizza restaurant, featuring a
masonry oven
A masonry oven, colloquially known as a brick oven or stone oven, is an oven consisting of a baking chamber made of fireproof brick, concrete, stone, clay (clay oven), or cob (cob oven). Though traditionally wood-fired, coal-fired ovens were ...
. Addressing a long-felt need among the expat population for more traditional pizza varieties (as opposed to the locally popular toppings based on
East Asian cuisine
This is a list of Asian cuisines, by region. A cuisine is a characteristic style of cooking practices and traditions, usually associated with a specific culture or region. Asia, being the largest, most populous and culturally diverse continent, ...
), it was an immediate success. A second location opened in Neihu in early 2006, quickly followed by a third in the former
VFW
The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an organization of US war veterans, who, as military service members fought in wars, campaigns, and expeditions on foreign land, waters, or ...
post building in Tienmu.
The original Lishui Street basement location was closed in 2006 when a street-level space in an adjacent building became available. Twelves new Alleycat's locations were added, before most of the locations closed with the exception of one restaurant remaining in the Taipei area. In 2007, Pontes briefly left Taiwan, and the chain was sold to Mark Thomas. Pontes returned to Taiwan in 2008, and started a new restaurant,
Yuma Southwest Grill.
Yuma Southwest Grill closed its doors for business the following year.
Signage
Alleycat's signage is simply the name in red-on-black lettering in a stylized font. Although the chain has used various drawings for promotions from time to time, it does not use a logo.
See also
*
List of companies of Taiwan
Taiwan maintains a stable industrial economy as a result of economic growth and industrialization during the late 20th century, being dubbed as one of the Four Asian Tigers along with Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea. It is a member of both ...
References
External links
Alleycat's website
Companies based in Taipei
Restaurant chains in Taiwan
Restaurants established in 2004
Taiwanese companies established in 2004
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