Horror-themed pizza shop scaring up business with Murder Pies
Cash Sakoulas calls it his “creepy little baby.”
Sakoulas turned on the lights at Sliced Pizzeria, and his baby came into view. He surveyed the whole room of horrific dolls, blood-splattered floors and Ouija board-topped tables, where fans of horror and pizza — two of Sakoulas’ passions — can enjoy a place for them.
About four weeks into business at Sliced, 2129 S. Industrial Road in Las Vegas, and Sakoulas is proud of the operation he runs with his wife, Nina, and their two teens, Johnny Cash and Lola Blue.
The restaurant shares a plot with Egan Escape Productions’ two large horror movie-themed escape rooms, based on the movies “The Blair Witch Project” and “Saw.” Sakoulas worked at one of Egan’s other productions, the haunted house attraction Fright Dome at Circus Circus. In fact, Sakoulas spent more than 15 years as a facilities manager at the hotel-casino until he left about a year ago to forge his own path, he said.
From his passions and connections to the Vegas horror scene, Sliced was born.
“It was a perfect opportunity because his guests now have a place to come and chill,” he said. “They can play some games, they can grab a bite to eat, chill for a little bit before they go in or after they come out.”
Sliced’s specialty item is the Murder Pie, a New York-style pizza with a black crust. A slice starts at $3.50 and a pie starts at $24. While some might be put off by dark food, Sakoulas said most customers don’t want the traditional white dough.
“It’s equal parts death, destruction and chaos and charcoal powder, which is as equally scary as the other ones,” Sakoulas said.
Fans of the horror genre will appreciate the attention to detail that Sakoulas brought to the space. About eight zombies are scattered around the property — one even scares patrons heading to the bathroom — along with three TVs that play varying horror movies and wall decor from movies and real-life terrors, such as a shadow box with sticks and rocks from Jeffrey Dahmer’s backyard.
Patrons can play classic arcade games, too. Several pinball machines line one wall, and two claw machines, one with spooky socks, are along the other.
The restaurant is getting on several third-party food delivery apps and hopes to soon have a beer and wine license. In the meantime, Sakoulas and his team of six are focused on creating a welcoming environment for anyone, fright fan or not.
“I want everybody to come here,” Sakoulas said. “When you come here, I want you to bring grandma, bring the kids, bring everybody over here. We’ll terrorize your grandma, we’ll teach the kids new curse words. We’ll do all that stuff. It’ll be great. We’ll have a great time, all of us together. That’s just how it is.”
McKenna Ross is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Contact her at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on Twitter.
