As many of our patrons know, the Pizza at the Palace restaurant started out as a franchise of Pizza Express back in 1989.

In 1993, title to the franchise was transferred to the current owner who had been with the company since 1976 having successfully managed the newly opened Beckenham and Bromley Pizza Express branches as well as transforming the Wimbledon Village restaurant into one of the highest earning branches in the country in 1985. At that time the Pizza Express in Crystal Palace however was having great difficulty establishing itself in the area and was still struggling to survive after a 4 year presence. Over the next 14 years the Crystal Palace branch built up its reputation and grew to become a recognised restaurant within the community.

In 2007, Pizza Express PLC was taken over by the Gondola Group, who also own ASK Pizza and Zizzi’s. One of their first acts was to stop franchising the Pizza Express brand by not renewing contracts with existing franchises on their expiry. So eventually in 2009, when the contract of the last remaining franchise of Pizza Express in the country ended, the company’s presence in the Crystal Palace area ceased.

However life carries on and the restaurant itself has continued to serve the community with much the same food and quality as before, but just as an independent restaurant with a different name.