For some 9-5er’s, heading to a party after a long day of work isn’t the first thing on their minds, but the Grown-Ass Pizza Party is offering a fresh, delicious, and time-friendly twist to weekday nightlife in Toronto.
The 19+ ticketed event – known for blending top-tier local pizza, creative and unapologetic DJ sets, and a beloved community vibe – is happening on Tuesday, June 10 at Stackt Market’s Blue Moon Brewery, between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.
The party will be serving slices from Fat Bao’s’ pop-up, Cherry Blossom Pizza, hoping to connect partygoers through magical music, vibrant dance floors, and delicious local slices.
“Instead of renting in a hall, we’re just going to go and take over a pizza parlor just because it’s refreshing, it’s different. It has a novelty aspect to it. And at the same time, we’re going to help a local business. Why not?” Brian Tong, co-founder of the Grown-Ass Pizza Party, told Now Toronto on Monday.
And the best part? Grown-Ass Pizza partygoers get to keep a vinyl-inspired souvenir from the event to mark their one-of-a-kind pizza party journey.
Grown-Ass Pizza partygoers can expect to experience festival-grade DJ sets spun by artists GQ, Rashad Rawkus, and Jeka.
Partygoers can also expect high-energy crowds, breakdance circles and the sweet smell and taste of local pizza, a homemade recipe curated to make the community feel good.
“The energy is off the chain, really,” Tong said.
“And you’ll see people dancing their asses off, literally, you’ll see people voguing, you’ll see people break dancing. You’ll see dance circles breaking out. It’s rare for guests not to see a dance circle break out,” Hassan Hamdan, co-founder of the Grown-Ass Pizza Party, told Now Toronto on Monday.
WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
The Grown-Ass Pizza Party began with a phone call between Toronto-based Tong and Ottawa-based Hassan Hamdan, known as DJ So Nice, and quickly evolved from what appeared to be a “very simple” idea to a one-of-a-kind mid-week experience.
“The first grown ass pizza party started off with Hassan giving me a call from Ottawa because I moved to Toronto. I had a long history as a creative in Ottawa, and I decided to move, and he just said ‘hey, I know we haven’t worked with each other. We’ve known a lot of mutual friends. Can we do a pizza party?’ Because when you think of Ottawa, you really think there’s nothing happening in Ottawa. And then I was like, ‘oh dear gosh. What are you thinking? Is it going to be blase? Is it going to be very simple?’” Tong said.
The duo says they were inspired by a group named R&B and Ribs in the San Francisco Bay Area who hosts daytime parties with a selection of BBQ and live music.
Meanwhile, Hamdan and Tong went on to host the very first Grown-Ass Pizza Party at the Rabbit Hole, a local pizza parlour located in Ottawa, hoping to attract an open, creative, dance-and-music-loving crowd.
But the development didn’t come without its own challenges.
“It had 70 people coming out, and people were just not grasping it. They’re like, ‘what is this? I don’t quite understand it’… So, we decided, look, we just gotta stick it through. It’s just going to make people feel good. They’re going to eat well, and the DJs are going to play in the most amazing opportunity, where they’re going to play unapologetically,” Tong said.
Despite the difficulty, Tong says the number of attendees continued to grow as more weekday partygoers caught wind of the event. Now, the Grown-Ass Pizza Party is turning heads between Toronto and Ottawa, and the co-founders are aiming to offer pizza parties globally.
COMMUNITY: DJ FORWARD, DANCE FIRST
It’s not just about pizza, and it’s not just about the party. Each Grown-Ass Pizza Party event begins with a call out to the community.
“Look to a person on your left and look to the person on your right if you don’t know them, and if you feel comfortable enough, introduce yourself, give them a dab,” Tong said.
At its core, the event is about centring the community, a value learned through the Vietnamese upbringing of Tong and Lebanese upbringing of Hamdan.
“Our mission is to provide a ‘feel good’ event and to truly make people feel good in every sense. Everything we think of, every decision we make, we’re always thinking, ‘what could we do to make people feel good?,’” Hamdan said.
The event focuses on creating a safe space where people can listen to music with intention, connect with those who share similar interests, discover underground tracks, and dance the stress of a long workday away.
“We’re here to have fun. We’re here to just to feel good, to vibe out with everybody. And you know, there’s no judgment, there’s none of that. This is a safe space for everyone,” Hamdan added.
Show up for the slice and stick around for the vibe. Support local, be home by 10 p.m., and enjoy a space made for everyone to be themselves.
To see when upcoming Grown-Ass Pizza Party’s will be held, click here.
