Sky's Pizza is set to open its new Pace location early next month. Here's what to expect.

Sky’s Pizza , Pensacola's cult-favorite New York-style pizza joint at 5559 N. Davis Highway, is expanding its footprint into Pace with a second location planned to open in early September.

Sky’s Pizza owner Sarah Noble is adding a second location at 4275 Woodbine Road in the former Mr. Pollo restaurant .

The second location should feel familiar to Sky’s regulars, with its similar collection of quirky art and beloved weekly specials. However, the new location is about 1,400 square feet smaller than the Pensacola shop.

“We had to redo the whole kitchen. It’s going to be tight in the kitchen, but it’s going to work,” Noble said.

However, there will be a few necessary changes to help keep the food at top quality while keeping service moving quickly. One of these changes is reducing the size of the 24-inch pizzas to 20-inch - which, to be fair, is still a massive pizza.

“I know it’s going to rock the boat,” Noble said. “I’ve thought about it a million times … I would rather have quality pizzas than large pizzas.”

She anticipates the Pace shop’s menu will be a more condensed version of the Pensacola store's menu, which includes Italian subs, pesto feta knots, sweet red chili wings and buffalo chicken salads. But she plans to expand the Pace menu over time, once she knows the kitchen can keep up with demand. She also will be starting out with dine-in and carry-out only, with the possibility of offering a third-party delivery service down the road.

She will, however, be adding a grab-and-go area to the Pace shop with ready-made dinners and desserts for customers to grab on the run, a feature she has been desiring for a long time.

The location was a long time coming for Noble, who originally intended to turn the former Izaeh’s American Steakhouse location at 4474 Woodbine Road, which she bought in 2021, into a Sky’s Pizza. Unfortunately, the building caught fire on the first day of construction, forcing Noble to rethink her plans.

Soon after, she started exploring the 4275 Woodbine Road location down the road. It was a location she had considered leasing six or seven years ago, but at the time she didn’t feel the timing was right to take the leap into a second location.

This time, when presented with the opportunity to take over Mr. Pollo's lease after the business relocated to Pensacola Boulevard , she saw the space with fresh eyes.

“I’m a huge believer in what’s meant to be,” Noble said. “It was just not our timing.”

Now, she has stacks of new employee applications to choose from, loads of seasoned employees ready to train and lots of customers blowing up her phone and social media pages clamoring for opening day.

“I never thought I’d get to this point,” Noble said. “I think it will be really good for both of the stores.”

For more real-time updates and information closer to opening day, follow Sky’s Pizza Pie on Facebook .

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This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Sky's Pizza is set to open its new Pace location early next month. Here's what to expect.