Original Dream Pizza Has Reopened in Portland

Original Dream Pizza is open once again! They had to close their doors because of a fire last fall, and they were finally able to reopen earlier this month. This week I chatted with Amy Northrop, one of the pizzeria’s owners, to learn more.

Why Original Dream Pizza Closed (Temporarily)

They announced the closure last October on their Instagram:

On Sunday, October 26, our building had a mechanical fire related to a rooftop HVAC unit. Thanks to a quick response by the Portland Fire Bureau, the fire was contained to the roof. However, the interior suffered a significant amount of smoke damage that must be mitigated before we can re-open. We hope to see you again soon!”

The Fire and the Cleanup

“We were actually in Eugene at a football game when it happened,” explained Amy. “We got a message from the neighbor that we had a fire. We expected the worst.”

Fortunately, the fire fighters hosed down the fire from the roof—no fire suppressant chemicals were used inside; no water damage was evident in the building. “When we walked into the room, it looked like there was a very fine layer of soot on just the main room,” Amy said. “It smelled for a long time.”

They ended up renting scrubbers for their cleaning needs, which included a deep clean of the carpets and wiping down every surface they could find; they also did a little painting. As far as the smell dissipating and getting everything cleaned up in there, they had hoped it might take a month—it ended up being more like 10 weeks that they were closed.

One thing that was on their side is that before the opened the first time, they had done a major cleaning inside. Amy spent two months on her hands and knees scrubbing the carpet and cleaning up 40 years of grunge that had stuck around. They place was really clean by the time they opened their doors in late June 2025.

The other silver lining Amy came to understand is that the fire offered them an opportunity for a reset. “You know, it’s funny—the fire actually was a good pause,” she said.

The Pizzeria’s History

“I’m not sure if you know the entire history,” remarked Amy. I knew bits and pieces, but I wanted to hear the story from her.

“The restaurant had been in business for 40 years,” she said. “We [Amy and her husband Dan] actually purchased it in March after it had been sitting there empty for an entire year. She knew the place well because she and her husband had been going to American Dream Pizza for over 20 years. “It was our favorite pizza place,” Amy said. “When they went out of business, we were like, ‘Where we going to get our favorite pizza?!'” 

So they tried lots of places but couldn’t find an acceptable dupe, and said, “Someone has to open this place!” Fast forward to 2025, and that someone was them. “We never thought it was going to be us!” Amy exclaimed. “We weren’t interested in buying a pizza restaurant. We just wanted our pizza back.”

“And now we have it back and it’s the most expensive pizza we’ve ever had!” she quipped. By that, she means that it cost them a lot to buy the business. And it’s just the business part—Providence owns the building.

The business the purchased included the legacy, the 40-year old clientele, the fixtures, the ovens, the phone number, and the lease.

The Original Dream Pizza Name

However, the one thing they couldn’t buy is the pizzeria’s name, as there is a Corvallis location of American Dream Pizza that was once part of the same operation. “They had an agreement that if it was ever sold, that the name would die, basically,” said Amy.

“And so ‘Original Dream’ is close enough, but not exact. In fact, the new name was the former owner’s idea. He goes, ‘You should call it original Dream, because this was the original location.'” Lots of people just call it “The Dream,” though.

Owning Original Dream Pizza

“So we were the new owners,” she said. “We got in there and we felt pressure—not from anyone but ourselves—to get it up and open. And we were doing our best to keep the legacy of the restaurant, but also make it more efficient—honoring the past, but making it more current and better. 

She added, “But it was very difficult—difficult financially, after the restaurant being closed for a year.” Bringing back American Dream’s customer base also presented itself with its own kind of challenge. And, recreating the pizzas was a feat, too.

“We didn’t have any recipes,” she explained. “Most of the recipes were spoken to us.” Nothing was written down, no real measurements (“just a scoop of this, a scoop of that…”). This led to some consistency issues.

Aside from getting some training by former staff—Amy followed former manager Chip around with a video camera, watching him make the pizzas—which helped, they basically had to start from scratch.

Results of the Pause and Reset

“The pause allowed us just to stop and look at what we were doing right,” said Amy. “And what we were doing wrong.” With this forced closure, they had more time to really hone in on the recipes, establish actual measurements, and more extensively train their staff.

Their chef, Ella, who had worked there for about a month prior to the fire (she came over from another pizzeria) was able to sit down and analyze the newly-written recipes, translating them to a more usable form. This started their path toward better consistency.

Ella also had the time to reorganize the kitchen while they were cleaning up front. They gave her full reign over the space, and things feel a lot better back there now.

“We feel way more organized now,” said Amy. We’ve only been open for [a handful of] nights, but it already feels incredibly more efficient. “

Original Dream Pizza Re-opening: The Public Reception

I asked Amy how they’ve been received after reopening. “People were very happy,” she said. “I think some people were worried that we were going to be closed forever. Waiting 10 weeks for a business to reopen is frustrating, especially for the loyal, tried-and-true clientele. But they’re very happy.”

She said it reminded her of their first opening back around Fourth of July. “People were so happy! They said, ‘We’ve just been waiting for a year!'”

The Pizza Dough

All of their dough is made in house, and their dedication to consistency is especially visible here. “Even just a slight difference in size or amount can affects like how puffy or crispy the crust is,” she explained. But, there’s just so much control they can exert on what is basically a living thing (yeast is alive).

“What’s interesting about the dough, is that even no matter how perfect the crust looks before they put it in the oven, once it’s cooked it has a mind of its own.” Amy loves this aspect of things—“They’re a piece of art,” she says.

Eggs? Eggs

Another interesting detail about their dough is that they use eggs in it. “My understanding is that the original recipe came from the original owner’s grandmother, who was Argentinian, and it was based on her own empanada recipe.” Mind. Blown.

They also use fresh yeast instead of powdered yeast.

“Yes, we’re using eggs in our dough, which we know is not always always done in pizza,” she said. They know their clientelle loves the pizza dough and even when eggs got expensive they didn’t want to leave them out. Omitting the eggs would be a big change and they didn’t want to make a misstep with that particular ingredient.

I suggested, “So it sounds like the crust maybe resembles an empanada dough?” Amy responded, ” Yes, I think that’s how it started, but we’re talking 40 plus years of morphing a recipe.” But it was important to the original owner, and to them, to pay tribute to the Argentinian roots of the dough.

On the Topic of Toppings

So while they figured out the dough/crust, there was the issue of the toppings. Again, nothing was written down and the former owners just did it by rote memory. There was no talk of ounces here, it was done by feel.  

That was their starting place, but they had something on their side that was invaluable: Those 20 years of patronage and pizza eating at American Dream Pizza. “The reason we know how they’re supposed to taste, is that my husband and I ate there for once a week for 20 years!” she exclaimed. “So it was a lot of tasting, and ‘Something’s not right!,’ or ‘This needs more cheese.'”

Understandably, there was a lot of (tasty) trial and error in the pizza development stage. They also had printed copies of all the menus, which indicated what the ingredients were for the signature pie history. But what they eventually came to realize is that 90% of people who order pizzas at Original Dream create their own pizza.

Some of those pizzas were from times in the past. Some folks would come in and say, “I used to get this one with X, Y, and Z.” So they’d look at the old menus and figure it out, confirming with the guest, and they’d plug in all the ingredients one by one.

“Most people know what they want,” Amy said.

As far as any new additions to the menu, they recently added a pepperoni pizza. They call it the Rip City Roni. And they switched from the wider flatter pepperoni to the smaller, thicker cupping pepperoni. An excellent choice, I’d say.

They also simplified some pies, like removing hazelnuts from one of the pizzas.

They’d like to bring back a monthly special they ran before the fire called Enzo, which was very popular. It was pepperoni, Mama Lil’s Peppers, and hot honey. “It was spicy sweet, which was very good with the hot honey,” said Amy. Crispy, but chewy. So what we’ll probably end up doing is continue with monthly specials and see what sticks.”

I asked if she had a favorite pie on the menu, and replied, “It’s not on the menu, but my favorite pizza would be pineapple, pepperoni, or a peperoncini.” She also talked about a pie she is thinking of making:

“My husband and I went to Sardinia in May. And they have an Italian sausage like a linguiça, but it’s the Italian version. It’s called Nduja. We want to use that for one of our specials coming up. I’m thinking that with arugula and fresh tomatoes would be a real nice pie, you know. It’s kind of similar to what we had over there. We’ve got lots of ideas.” And while consistency is paramount for them, creativity is important and fun, too.  

The Future Vision for Original Dream Pizza

I was curious about how she thinks about the future of Original Dream. She started at the beginning (“We just wanted our pizza back!”), and now they are thinking that it will be a good business for them during their retirement years, and possibly pass it on to their kids; they have twin boys who are 19 right now. 

They have no plans to franchise or expand, and are content now to see how things go with the business. It also helps that Providence, their landlord, offers an affordable lease rate, truly making it doable. They are committed to be here for as long as they have that, which is for another four years.

“I see us trying to stay where we are and providing a good neighborhood pizza joint for people who want that,” said Amy. “You know, it’s like, go grab a pizza with your family—a good neighborhood restaurant type of place.”

That all said, if at some point it doesn’t make sense financially, they will have to reassess.

Lessons Learned

I asked, “What do you think is the best lesson you’ve learned from the experience, whether it’s the break from the fire or getting into the pizza field. What is the best thing you’ve learned?”

“This isn’t specific to the restaurant, but I think in general, projects are way bigger than you realize—especially financially” she said. “We felt like we got a fair deal buying the business, and we have a good lease and a good location. But there are so many factors that go into purchasing something—this could be purchasing a home or purchasing a car or purchasing a restaurant.”

She continued, “There are so many unforeseen expenses. When we were doing the initial cleanup, there was way more to do than we realized. Now, we could have just opened it up, as-is. But we figured that while we were waiting for the liquor license, we should start cleaning.  I thought the cleanup would take about two weeks. It took about three months months.”

“So, you know, I guess my lesson is, look deeper,” she said. “Every project is way bigger and you have to know when to stop and move forward.” And while this sounds very serious in tone, she says it’s been a lot of fun working on this pizzeria project.

I Just Want People To Come In

That is the bottom line, Amy expressed. “Come in—come in twice again!” she exclaimed. ‘We’re a work in progress, but our intent is to make it the neighborhood pizza place that people have always remembered. We are not the same company, but we want to try to replicate what people were missing.”

Wishing Amy and Dan all the best with their recent reopening of Original Dream Pizza and their move forward, pizza in hand.

Original Dream Pizza [reopened January 9, 2026]
4620 NE Glisan Street, Portland
Original Dream Pizza website | Instagram | Facebook