#1838 - Cloverleaf Tavern, Tacoma, WA - 8/6/2011

 The Cloverleaf is an old neighborhood bar known for its unique pizza, and particularly the thin, compressed shell pizza crust. It's a kind of hybrid of an old dive bar, a sports bar, and the sort of family restaurant that has photos of the long-time customers and colored pictures by kids on the wall. The help are hip and friendly, with a reasonable set of beers on tap. The first time visitor certainly must have the famous pizza, but be prepared to wait 45 minutes for their special special crust to bake.

Their menu describes the ownership history:

"Pat Nolde and Mike Ball started the Cloverleaf Tavern in 1950. Jack Collimum and Al Moody were owners between then and October 1960 when Larry Turco purchased the business. In 1961, Larry brought in the pizza recipe from a business interest he had in Ponders. Larry did well at the Cloverleaf Tavern, but decided to sell to Lennard Manke January 1, 1971. Lennard continued a thriving business until his retirement. He sold the business to [his employee and daughter-in-law] Debbie Manke on January 1, 2004."

6430 6th Avenue Tacoma, WA 98406 - (253) 565-1111
Est. 1950

Web site: cloverleafpizza.com - facebook  
Reviews: seattleweekly - weeklyvolcano - tnt - yelp - tripadvisor