Food & Beverage

From Instagram to storefront: Nicky Slices Pizza Club

Photo: Adobe Stock

July 31, 2026

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Nicky Slices founder Nick Williams never intended to build one of St. Louis' most talked-about pizza brands. What began as an Instagram-based take-and-bake pizza operation during the COVID-19 pandemic eventually led Williams to open his first brick-and-mortar location in St. Louis. His story is featured in an article in The St. Louis Insider, where Williams gives an inside look into his history of learning how to cook and living in New York.

As Nicky Slices grows, Williams says the biggest challenge has been balancing quality with operational efficiency. Rather than sacrificing craftsmanship for speed, the team continues refining its kitchen processes to reduce wait times while maintaining the product standards customers expect. Williams says he's also adapting the business for its next phase by introducing a faster, more affordable lunch program and evolving his marketing strategy now that day-to-day restaurant operations leave less time for social media.

Of his transition from Instagram to a brick and mortar location, William says: "We figured out that we are faced with two dilemmas: Get out slices as quickly as we can, or make slices as best as we can. We decided to focus on making them as best as we can, so we get a lot of people who say, 'What is ready right now?' and the answer is 'nothing.'"