Booming Business Allows Rising Star Krust Pizza to Expand

The wood-fired artisan pizza and bourbon restaurant that's quickly becoming the area's favorite is growing in size less than a year after opening in the city's North End.

Krust Pizza Bar at 686 Main Street in Middletown is expanding into the storefront next to Tesoro Gift Shop at 680 Main that formerly held a flea-market-type gift shop. Before that, Little Tibet occupied the expansive space for 14 years, selling rugs, furniture and Tibetan trinkets, and for a short time, the Tibetan Kitchen restaurant.

Co-owner Kevin Wirtes says he's hoping for work to be completed by the new year. "We're looking to add 40 to 50 more seats — bigger tables, more comfortable seating."

That means you'll have less of a wait to enjoy Krust's signature innovative pie creations, drink specials, appetizers and custom desserts from NoRA Cupcake next door. 

It's not just pizza they're slinging at Krust. Friday's appetizer special is Cape Cod bay oysters, cucumber juice, wood sorrel and lemon zest. How's this for a unique take on pizza? The Englander is a wood-fired cinnamon sugar apples, pancetta and a provolone piàve cheese blend.

Customers are raving about the pizza on the restaurant's Facebook page, as devoted fans have termed it "the closest thing I've had to pizza from Italy."

And as for bourbon — Wirtes says Krust has top-shelf bourbon but also affordable brands and cocktails which incorporate whiskey and scotch. This week's drink special was the Soccer Mom: local bartlett pear juice, botanical vodka, bitters and prosecco. And for Oktoberfest, try this mug on for size — a 48 ounce authentic German stein of Spatan Oktoberfest. 

There's a full range of cocktails made with Connecticut's Onxy Moonshine, like the Apple Pie with cinnamon whiskey, local apple cider and ginger beer, or the Harvest Moon with pumpkin pie cream liquor and hot licks cinnamon bourbon.

In honor of the bewitching season, Krust is hosting a Halloween costume party in which $40 entitles diners to well drinks, draft beer and buffet pizza for the night. Tickets are going fast.

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• Krust Starts Work on Artisan Pizza / Bourbon Bar