Best of Near Campus, Part Three: Pizza, Espresso Martinis & Creative Mischief

DipsLocal Best of Near Campus (Part Three)

For Part Three of our Best of Near Campus series, we’re heading into Lancaster’s West End for two more interesting, locally owned spots close to F&M.

The first sits just south of campus and makes some of our favorite pizza in Lancaster. The second is a little farther west, directly across from F&M’s visual arts building, and is considerably harder to define.

Pizza. Coffee. Cocktails. Concerts. Art. Creative mischief. There’s a little something for everyone in this one.

Pizzeria 211: Go Early. Seriously.

Some of you may have already enjoyed Pizzeria 211’s Detroit-style pizza at Southern Market in central downtown Lancaster. If you haven’t made it to Southern Market yet, don’t worry—we’ll devote a future post to this unique food hall and bar. If you're staying at the Marriott, take a few minutes to check it out now.

For now, the big news for the F&M f&mily is that Pizzeria 211 recently moved into its first standalone home at 601 West Lemon Street, much closer to campus.

Owner Matt Shultz, a Millersville native, spent years in Philadelphia before making a mid-career pivot to pizza. In fact, the “211” comes from the Philadelphia street address where he first started developing the recipes that eventually became Pizzeria 211.

And these aren’t pizzas that get thrown together at the last minute. The dough is cold-fermented for 48 to 72 hours, which helps create the light, airy interior and crispy crust that make their pizza so good. In other words, the pizza you’re eating today was started several days ago.

That also helps explain something else you should know:

When they run out, they run out. We learned that one the hard way.

We stopped by the new location recently and were pleasantly surprised to see there was no line outside. For a brief moment, we felt unusually pleased with ourselves.

Then we walked in. Sold out of pizza. Not just Detroit-style pizza.

Sold out of pizza, at 7 p.m.

We were used to certain Detroit-style pies selling out at Southern Market, but we hadn’t anticipated walking into an actual pizzeria at 7:00 and discovering there was no pizza left. Our satisfaction disappeared rather quickly.

Dips Local Pro Tip: Make It Lunch

Our advice? Go earlier in the day.

Slices are available from opening until 3 p.m., and lunchtime gives you a much better chance of getting exactly what you want.

As for what you should order, the Krauses are partial to the Detroit-style pepperoni, well done.

Going well done gives you those crispy cheese edges surrounding an already pretty amazing combination of sauce and dough. Add a little drizzle of hot honey at the end and, in our opinion, you’re done.

Actually, maybe order two.

If you have access to an oven, buy an extra pie to heat up later. And if the extra is headed back to your student’s room? There’s something about cold pizza and college students that has apparently worked for generations. We’ll leave it at that.

Pizzeria 211 has also expanded the menu at its new location to include cheesesteaks. We haven’t tried one yet, but considering the amount of care they put into pizza dough, we have high hopes.

West Art: A Community Living Room

From there, head a little farther west toward Buchanan Park and you’ll find West Art at 816 Buchanan Avenue, directly across from F&M’s visual arts complex.

West Art is a coffee shop.

And a bar.

And a music venue.

And an event space.

And an arts and community center.

And depending on the day, it might also be hosting comedy, yoga, a flea market, chess, live music, a fundraiser, an art competition or something considerably quirkier.

West Art describes itself as a “multi-purpose, ever-evolving community and cultural space,” which is probably the best description because trying to put it into one category doesn’t really work. Its own social media description might be even better: art, music and creative mischief in an old church.

The story behind it is pretty Lancaster, too. Founders Josh Gibbel and Rufus Deakin were neighbors who started talking across their backyard fence about music, old buildings and the possibilities for the former St. Peter’s United Church of Christ. Those conversations eventually became West Art. They received the keys to the building in March 2023 and have continued transforming it ever since.

We love the flexibility of the space. You can stop in for coffee in the morning, bring a laptop or book and find a comfortable place to work, meet someone for an afternoon drink, or come back at night and discover an entirely different version of the same building.

The Art Bar is now open every day from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and offers sandwiches and pastries in addition to coffee, cocktails, beer and wine. Food trucks also regularly appear for larger events.

We’re still hoping a more extensive kitchen might eventually be part of the evolution. But food isn't actually our primary Dips Local recommendation here anyway.

🍸 Dips Local Sip Pick: The Espresso Martini

We discovered West Art’s espresso martini somewhat accidentally.

Last season, we stopped in before a particularly cold F&M lacrosse scrimmage, mostly looking for someplace to warm up before heading outside to Shadek. Naturally, we ordered an ice-cold cocktail.

We tried the espresso martini and thought it was one of the best we’d had in Lancaster.

After spending some time outside at the scrimmage, we returned to West Art to thaw out—and, in the interest of thorough research, decided we should probably confirm that the first espresso martini had actually been as good as we thought. It was.

We still haven’t figured out the secret. A place that takes both its coffee and its cocktails seriously probably has an inherent advantage, but this one consistently exceeds our expectations.

We’ll continue the investigation and report back.

An Especially Good Time for F&M Families to Discover It

West Art and F&M are becoming increasingly connected, which isn't surprising considering they're practically neighbors.

On August 30, F&M is the presenting sponsor of West Art’s first Bloc Party, with Buchanan Avenue closing for live music, food trucks, vendors and family activities from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

If you’re around campus that weekend, this might be the perfect excuse to wander over and check it out.

West Art also rents its different spaces for private events, weddings and parties. We happen to have a direct connection to their event planner, so if an F&M family is considering an event there and wants an introduction, let us know. We’re happy to connect you.

Two Very Different Reasons to Explore the West End

One of the things we hope this series demonstrates is how much there is to discover within just a few minutes of F&M's campus.

Pizzeria 211 and West Art are perfect examples.

At one, you need to get there before everyone else eats the pizza.

At the other, you might stop for coffee and discover there's a concert, flea market or chess club happening around you.

And both are locally owned places that add a little more personality to the neighborhoods surrounding campus.

Our advice: order the pepperoni Detroit-style well done, add the hot honey—and then start planning when you’re going to conduct your own espresso martini research. This series has already highlighted Lombardo's espresso martini.....Stay tuned for more places that should be added to your list.