5 years after closing, pizza ‘institution’ to reopen in new Boise spot. Mmm, Clam Bacon.

It didn’t take long for crowds to find Casanova Pizzeria after it opened in 2005.

And you can bet it won’t take long for them to return. The Boise restaurant, which closed in 2015 after losing its lease, is set to reopen next year in a new spot.

Casanova Pizzeria has leased a 2,102-square-foot space at Adare Manor, an apartment complex at 2419 W. Fairview Ave., according to Thornton Oliver Keller Commercial Real Estate.

The restaurant recently posted a YouTube video teasing the fact that it planned to return in 2020.

Originally at 1204 S. Vista Ave. (where Red Bench Pizza now operates), Casanova dazzled customers for a decade with wood-fired, East Coast-style pies blistered in a brick oven.

Owner Dan Guild, a native of New Haven, Connecticut, offered a menu filled with fresh ingredients ranging from traditional Italian staples to eyebrow-raising options.

Casanova’s house specialty was a Clam Bacon Pizza with toppings “reminiscent of clam chowder,” the Idaho Statesman wrote in a 2006 review. “... Big chunks of smoky bacon and tender bivalves set in place by gooey fresh mozzarella.”

“It’s amazing,” the Statesman added, “that in less than one year, Casanova has become an institution in the Bench Depot neighborhood.”

After Casanova closed, Guild hunted for a new spot. In 2017, he finally announced that he’d suspended the search after “looking at 31 different locations all over the area and starting lease negotiations with six of them.”

Apparently, Guild got hungry again. And when Casanova’s oven finally heats back up to 900 degrees, Boise can feast.

▪ Online: casanovapizzeria.com.

This story was originally published December 9, 2019 at 3:40 PM.