FANCY a pizza the action?

One of the creators of Dead Eyes Cocktail and Hot Dog Den in Bridge Street has opened a by-the-slice pizza shop in Academy Way in a hope of bringing a New York vibe to Warrington town centre.

Former Great Sankey High School student James Maguire took inspiration from Joe’s Pizza in New York when coming up with the concept for Saucy’s.

Joe Pozzuoli, originally from Italy, established Joe’s in 1975 and his ‘New York slice’ has made it into Time Out’s restaurant guide as well being named as one of the ‘best 25 pizzas on Earth’ by GQ in 2009.

James, 35, who runs the business with co-owner Leon Close, 24, said: “People from all over the world travel to Joe’s for a slice, including the rich and famous.

“So that’s the sort of idea we were going for.

“We’re not going for the Neapolitan style which is super thin and drops off at the end.

“We’re going more for the thin base, puffy crust and juicy toppings on the top.”

Saucy’s will be catering both for the lunchtime and night life crowds.

You can buy a slice for £2.50 which is a quarter of a 12 ins pizza or a whole ‘pie’ – as the New Yorkers like to call it – made in one of Saucy’s four pizza ovens.

There are nine to choose from although with the by-the-slice service it is a choice of margarita, double pepperoni and a third which rotates from the menu.

Whole pizzas range from £10 to £16 for a 12 ins or 18 ins pie and most of the ingredients are delivered from James and Leon’s supplier in Naples.

It takes them just four to five minutes to cook a whole pizza at an oven temperature of 300 degrees.

James, who is based at the former unit of Dora Thornley’s fish and chips, added: “We’ve not scrimped on the produce.

“We firmly believe that the quality ingredients are what people are paying for and if you scrimp on that but you’re expensive it’s going to drag you down and people aren’t going to come back.”

The menu also includes a meat ball side dish, a family recipe combining three meats, herbs and spices.

And there is a secret recipe cheese sauce that was passed down to James by his uncle Lee Warren.

James said: “Leon and I have both got experience in catering and there are a lot of cooks in my family.

“Half of my family is American and my uncle used to have his own restaurant in Florida so he has given a lot of input in terms of recipes.

“After the success of Dead Eyes and with the regeneration of this part of town we wanted to step outside of the box and do something that’s not been done before in Warrington.

“Everything is made fresh daily.

“Ours is more of a street food style rather than your run of the mill pizza shop or kebab house.

“You come here and we’ve got traditional Italian food, homemade meatballs and our own secret recipe sauce.

“Not everybody has got the time to have a sit down meal so the idea here is that you can grab a slice.”

James reinvented hot dogs in a similar way when he gave the snack a gourmet makeover for the launch of Dead Eyes in 2014.

It was a winner in the Warrington Guardian food and drink awards.

He added: “I’m thinking if I can win the Warrington Guardian Bar of the Year award with Dead Eyes cocktail den with all the hard work we put in then imagine what an achievement it would be to also win pizza shop of the year too..."