New in Town: New Owner Gives Anytime Pizza Some New York Flair

With a new owner at the helm, a Beach Boulevard business is creating a new identity for itself.

Dan Mouneimne took over all three Anytime Pizza locations – the other two are in St. Petersburg -- at the beginning of August. Planning to slightly tweak the name to , he hopes this will create a buzz for the chain. After all, he said, New York is known for many things, especially its pizza.

The new name is not merely homage to the Empire State; Mouneimne plans to actually ship water in from New York and make the dough fresh on site. “New York has really good water,” he said. “It’s the best for the dough. Florida water is not really the best to make dough with.” Having lived there until he was nine and visiting his family there often, he even asserts that some of the pizza he’s eaten in New York “is better than Italy.”

This isn’t the only change to the menu. Giving the Gulfport location some special treatment, Mouneimne has created a slew of offerings that reflect his Lebanese background. The result is the addition of Mediterranean dishes, including hummus and falafel, as well as a lentil soup he promises is nothing less than amazing. His pride and joy, however, is the dessert menu. He plans on experimenting with new desserts, including a special baklava made with a custard pudding and featuring different flavors, including coconut walnut. “I really like creating new things in the kitchen,” he said. “I love to create different, homemade desserts and other dishes.”

Mouneimne moved to downtown Tampa last year, attracted by the beautiful weather. Having previously lived in Ohio, where he founded and ran several Mediterranean restaurants, it wasn’t long before he realized how much he missed owning restaurants. So he began looking around to see what opportunities were available in the Tampa Bay area. With no intention of getting into the pizza business, he just happened to stumble upon the Anytime chain when it was up for sale. Attracted to its comfortable, community feel, Mouneimne knew Gulfport was where he wanted to own his next restaurant and he snatched up the popular trio.

Aside from the menu, there will be some changes to the operating hours as well. On weekends, doors will stay open until about 2 a.m. He also plans to open earlier on Sundays to serve lunch.

As the revamped Anytime NY Pizza locations in Gulfport and St. Petersburg come into their own, Mouneimne plans to expand to the other side of the bay with a new storefront in the Tampa area.

Anytime NY Pizza’s Gulfport location is at 2930 Beach Blvd. For more information, go to their website or call (727) 323-2015. Feel free to "like" Anytime NY Pizza on Facebook today!