The first black-owned pizza shop in Minneapolis is growing quickly, with its fourth location expected to open in the fall of this year.

With a splash of paint and a few more screws, the smell of pizza will fill University Avenue in St. Paul this summer.

“This is our first establishment here in St. Paul. We’re really excited to get exposed to this market,” Josie Thurmand, Slice Pizza co-owner, said.

The business was born in 2020 as Minneapolis’ first black-owned pizza spot, but a few months later, the pandemic hit and they were forced to shut down.

Workers started spinning dough for the first time in 2021 at the first location in Northeast Minneapolis while battling the ups and downs of high costs, supply shortages and the food industry changes with COVID.

But things turned around. Last summer, they expanded their business to the Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis.

“Coming out of what we just dealt with as far as COVID, you really take the leap of faith and a belief in your system,” Thurmand said.

That leap of faith landed them in the direction of success. They’re months away from opening their third location in the Frogtown neighborhood.

In the fall, Bloomington will get a taste of Slice Pizza in the Mall of America food court.

Thurmand explained having a black-owned business strengthens representation in entrepreneurial spaces.

“Seeing African-American males in a positive light doing positive things is something that needs to be strongly represented,” he said.

He explained the ingredients to success start with commitment and ends with community.

“That’s kind of the whole backbone of our business,” he said. We’ve really developed a really, really good following and a really good customer base that supports us. We appreciate that.”