Camillus, N.Y. — Toss & Fire Wood-Fired Pizza is opening its second brick-and-mortar restaurant later this year.

The popular pizza maker, which started as a food truck in 2015 and expanded to a restaurant in North Syracuse in 2016, will be opening its second location, this one in the Township 5 center in Camillus.

The restaurant will be in the former Mesa Grande location, which closed in June due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Toss & Fire owner Nick Sanford said he’s been eyeing expansion for the last year and a half and Camillus was an area he was interested in expanding into. When the Mesa Grande spot became available, he jumped at the chance. The new spot has been in the works for several months, Sanford said.

“The stars aligned,” he said.

The bar at Toss & Fire Wood-Fired Pizza in North Syracuse is full of local and state-brewed beer on tap. The taps are just yards away from the pizza oven. The secret chicken wings of CNY. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)Charlie Miller

The menu at the new shop will be similar to the North Syracuse restaurant, with pizza — both Neapolitan and New York style — as its backbone. The beer and wine program, with a strong emphasis on New York products, will also be carried over from North Syracuse.

“We’ll do what we’re known for,” Sanford said.

The Camillus location will be counter service, while the North Syracuse location has full table service. Both will offer takeout and delivery.

The decor will be changed, but Sanford plans on preserving the Mesa Grande layout and some of the furnishings, including the long, reclaimed wood tables. Unlike the North Syracuse restaurant, where the wood-fired oven is largely obfuscated from public view, the oven at the new restaurant will be front and center, allowing diners to watch their pizzas being made.

“It’ll be part of your dining experience,” Sanford said.

Sanford said he hopes the new restaurant at 190 Township Blvd. will open by early November.

By Jacob Pucci | jpucci@syracuse.com

Jacob Pucci writes on food, restaurants and all things gastronomic across Central New York. Contact him by email at jpucci@syracuse.com.