Rally Pizza in Vancouver, Wash., Will Close by the End of the Year

Rally Pizza, a foodie gem that makes some of Southwest Washington’s best Neapolitan-style pies out of a utilitarian strip mall, is calling it quits.

Husband-and-wife team Alan Maniscalco and Shan Wickham announced late last week they would be closing the business located just off of East Mill Plain Boulevard about 2 miles west of Interstate 205. The couple cited ongoing industry challenges as the reason.

“We have such a supportive community of customers and a wonderful team, but it is no longer feasible for us to operate at this scale with the economic challenges restaurants are currently facing,” Maniscalco and Wickham wrote in a letter to Rally Pizza devotees.

The sprawling restaurant opened in 2016 and, at the time, we called it Vancouver’s first great restaurant.

Rally was modeled after the large suburban chain-style establishments that Maniscalco and Wickham typically end up eating at when they’re in Des Moines visiting family—comfortable and familiar ambience but with truly great food. The top-notch pies are similar to Ken’s Artisan, where Maniscalco was a co-owner and chef, but the menu also went beyond pizza to include hand-stretched pasta, roasted vegetables and custard shakes (with booze and without). Rally also prided itself on making nearly everything from scratch and sourcing ingredients year-round from local farmers.

You can bid farewell to Rally’s as well as 2022 with a thin-crust pizza and thick vanilla bean ice cream sundae. Its last day of service is Saturday, Dec. 31.