Pat's Apizza is a New Haven-style pizzeria that opened in North Haven, Connecticut in September 2025. It was founded by Patrick Hennessey. After graduating with a master's degree from Boston College, East Haven-native Hennessey entered the corporate world. In December 2024, his family opened the Forbes Premium Fuel gas station in North Haven. The gas station was designed to have a convenience store as well as a decent-sized restaurant space. For nearly a year, the restaurant space sat empty as Hennessey's parents were unable to find a restaurant that was willing to move into the space. Hennessey was then tapped to open a pizzeria in the space. Although he had never owned a business or prepared food professionally, the 29-year-old had been experimenting with making pizza since his teenage years. After a number of disastrous pizza-making experiments in his Boston apartment, Hennessey was ready to move back to Connecticut to open his own pizzeria. At Pat's Apizza, the menu is focused exclusively to pizza. Most of the pies are New Haven-style "apizza" (pronounced ah-BEETZ in the local lingo), but they also prepare Sicilian and Roman pies. Upon opening in September, Pat's was met with much success. In addition to full pies, Pat's Apizza also sells slices. Hennessey is quick to remind his customers, "It's not gas station pizza, it's not."
My family and I recently visited Pat's Apizza while my wife's uncle was visiting from out of town. We have been meaning to try their pizza since they first opened; we heard plenty of great things. Most of Pat's business seems to be take-out, but they have about six tables inside with an additional four outside. It was a little drizzly on the day of our visit, so we opted for inside. After looking over the menu, my family and I ordered and shared three larges: the "Margherita" (fresh mozzarella, Pecorino Romano, basil, olive oil), "The White Pie Special" (mozz, ricotta, caramelized onion, garlic, basil, Pecorino Romano, olive oil), and the "Mashed Potato Bacon" (mozzarella, mashed potato, bacon, Pecorino Romano). My wife's uncle ordered a small Margherita with Mushrooms for himself. The crust was crispy, charred around the edges, very flavorful sauce, good cheese and excellent toppings! We enjoyed all of the pies, but the Margherita was everyone's favorite! Congrats to Pat and his crew for bringing fantastic pizza to such an unusual setting. We hope to be back again and again! read more