Crescent Moon Pizza opens in Como

The latest tenant of 1517 Como Ave. SE brings 10 years’ restaurant and bakery experience with him. On March 9, Meerwais Azizi opened Crescent Moon Pizza, whose menu of Afghani cuisine is a smaller version of what’s offered at Azizi and his wife’s Crescent Moon Bakery in Northeast Minneapolis, which began as a bakery but has since evolved into a restaurant, pizza place and banquet hall, he said.

Azizi said the new restaurant was inspired by requests from University of Minnesota students who patronized the bakery. The standout menu item — pictured on a banner outside the new restaurant — is the “football pizza,” an elliptical, thick-crusted pie with a special (and optionally spicy) sauce.

Crescent Moon also offers regular, round American pizzas, along with rice dishes and meat or vegetarian kabobs, Azizi said. He said the economy hasn’t hurt his Northeast business, and he’s “pretty confident we’ll make it because our food is good.”

Crescent Moon Pizza is open 11 a.m.–10 p.m. Monday–Thursday, 11 a.m.–11 p.m. (midnight during the summer) on Friday and Saturday, and noon–9 p.m. on Sunday. Takeout is available; the restaurant doesn’t currently deliver but hopes to in the future, said an employee.

Crescent Moon Pizza
1517 Como Ave. SE
612-767-3313