Mash-up: Lil Woody's & Pagliacci

Marcus Lalario, Lil Woody’s owner, was just two years old when Pagliacci first opened in 1979. He ate at Pagliacci on his own for the first time as a youth while heading to Orpheum Records on Broadway. “I was a stoned skateboarder, had a few dollars, and wanted some good food,” Marcus says with a laugh. 

Years later, in 2011, after working in the music business and a variety of Seattle’s hippest clubs and bars, Marcus opened Lil Woody’s on Capitol Hill, filling a niche for reliably great burgers. Since then, Lil Woody’s has grown to three locations (Ballard, Capitol Hill, White Center) and a history of collaborating with some of the biggest names in the Seattle culinary world. 

“We’ve done burgers with Melissa Miranda from Musang, Eduardo Jordan of Junebaby, Brady Williams from Canlis, Matt Dillon, as well as up-and-coming chefs,” says Marcus. And the list of collaborations doesn’t stop there. Lil Woody’s even worked with Macklemore to create a burger when his last album was coming out. 

So when Marcus proposed the idea of Pagliacci doing a Lil Woody’s burger pizza and Lil Woody’s doing a Pagliacci pizza burger, we jumped on it. “The first step was to get some Lil Woody’s,” says John Clifford, Pagliacci’s Senior Director of Training and Development. “I think we got every burger they sell and an ungodly amount of onion rings, fries, and dipping sauces.” 

After gorging on burgers and fries, Pagliacci’s food team homed in on their bacon cheeseburger. “Nothing says Lil Woody’s more than that burger,” says John. “We replicated those ingredients on a pizza and it was delicious! We made a pie for the guys over at the burger shop and they agreed.” 

The Pagliacci Lil Woody’s Pizza starts with our classic pizza dough with a base layer of mozzarella topped with ground beef, bacon, onions, cheddar, pickles, tomatoes and Lil Woody’s fry sauce. The pizza launches on May 20 and will be available through the end of the month. 

And when you’re hedging toward a burger rather than a pizza, head to any Lil Woody’s  and order a Pagliacci Grand Salami Pizza Burger, which features a Painted Hills grass-fed beef patty topped with Canadian bacon, salami, mozzarella served with a side of Pagliacci’s pizza sauce. The burger will be available starting May 18 and will run for a week. 

“We love to work with like-minded brands in our community,” says Marcus. “It’s fun, it’s cool, it’s something different. We’re obviously huge fans of Pagliacci. It’s an honor to be able to work with them and to be co-branding with them.” 

Right back at you, Lil Woody’s!