Two guys who grew up on the same streets.
Matt Watson and Jonathan Corbo are Greenwich kids. They grew up here, left to explore the world, and came back — the way people who actually love a place tend to do. They started families here. They built a business here. And when the time was right, they opened the restaurant they’d always wanted for themselves.
Before Grigg Street, they were partners in Corbo’s Deli — a string of locations they built and eventually sold. They knew how to run a restaurant. They knew the neighborhood. What they wanted next was simpler: a place that felt like theirs.
They opened during a pandemic. And sold out every day.
April 2020. The world was shut down. Matt and Jon opened anyway. Pre-orders only, no walk-ins, a basement nobody had heard of. They sold out every single day for a month straight.
“Once we found it, we decided to share it. And once you get here, it’s only gonna get better.”
No marketing budget. No grand opening. No press release. Just word of mouth from people who tried it once and couldn’t stop talking about it. That’s still how most people find this place.
A basement off Greenwich Avenue. Exactly what it sounds like.
White tiled walls. Hendrix on the wall. Sex Pistols. Pearl Jam. Rock music on the speakers, always. Enough room to have a good time, not so much that it loses the feel of somewhere real.
The concert posters aren’t decoration. They’re from shows Matt and Jon actually went to. The music isn’t curated for ambiance — it’s what they actually listen to. The place is an expression of who they are, not what they think a pizza restaurant is supposed to look like.
Simple menu. Serious obsession with getting it right.
The menu isn’t trying to be everything to everyone. It’s trying to be exactly right for the people who care about what goes into their food. Every pizza and every piece of bread is made with 100% natural leaven — zero commercial yeast, ever. The mozzarella is made in house. The dressings are made in house.
The Philly Cheesesteak uses dry-aged steak. Not because it’s on trend — because that’s the right way to do it. People drive from out of town specifically for it.
- Dough 100% natural leaven. Zero commercial yeast in any pizza or bread. The dough is essentially sourdough — without the classic sourdough tang.
- Mozzarella Made in house daily. Fresh, not shredded, not shipped in.
- Dressings All made in house. Every salad dressing, from scratch.
- Philly Steak Dry-aged. The same quality you’d expect from a serious steakhouse.
- Philosophy Simple, Consistent, Delicious. Not trying to be everything — trying to be exactly right.
Word got out. Then the cameras showed up.
They didn’t pitch anyone. They didn’t run ads. Dave Portnoy showed up, ate a slice, scored it an 8.2 and said “if you’re in the eights, that means you drive to it.” Then he tried the Philly cheesesteak. That scored a 9.2.
In October 2023, Guy Fieri’s crew came through for Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Episode: “East, South, West.” The description called it “real deal pie and off-the-hook Philly cheesesteaks.” That tracks.