Almena Downtown Takeout

• 42505 County Road 653
• Paw Paw, MI 49079
• (269) 913-4172
• Website
• No Known Menu

I’m always looking for good pizza and I love finding pizzas in places you wouldn’t expect to find them.

A while ago, I started seeing posts from a party store in Almena Township. It’s not too far from where I live but I don’t think in the 15 years I’ve lived here I’ve ever been through “Almena.”

I was always pretty hesitant about making the drive out there because I can’t find a menu online anywhere. There are some old ones on Google but the business has changed hands in the last few so I don’t know if those are any good anymore.

Last Friday, I was out in that area for work. I still wasn’t really “near” the party store but when I got done, I decided to detour to see what I’d find.

I stopped in before 11:00 and there was no pizza. I didn’t see a menu anywhere and the clerk said they really don’t have one. I bought a couple of Pepsi’s and headed back to Kalamazoo.

I went about my day and when I was scrolling through Facebook later, I saw a post from the same party store I was just at for a pizza special. I figured, hell, I was hungry so I called in an order and headed back out to Almena Township.

The party store we’re talking about is Almena Downtown Take Out. It’s on Country Road 653 near Almena Drive northeast of Paw Paw. The small store is kind of an island in the rural setting that surrounds it. There’s a large parking lot off east but other than the Township Hall about half mile up the road, there’s nothing but farmland and houses for miles.

The Facebook post I saw advertised a 16″ Pepperoni or Cheese pizza for $9.99. Other than that, I have no idea what sizes or what toppings they offer. I know they offer chicken curry at times too but that’s as much as I know about a menu. They use their Facebook page to make announcements of these specials but there is no menu listed there either.

I was sitting at the Target on West Main when I ordered and was told it would be about 25-30. The roads were still pretty icy so I took my time. I got a call right at the 25 minute mark to tell me my pizza was ready. I was about 3 minutes away at that point so I timed it pretty good.

The store is billed as “the neighborhood’s one-stop shop: restaurant, convenience and liquor store!” It’s a pretty typical set up with a small convenience store right as you walk in with coolers along the back wall for beer and other drinks.

The restaurant area is straight ahead when you walk in the door. There looked to be a pizza warmer for slices but the rest of the grab and go set up didn’t look like it was still used.

My pizza was already at the register so I grabbed a couple of Pepsi’s and paid. The cost was right around $15 for the large pizza and two 20 oz. bottles of pop.

I didn’t have high expectations for a $9.99 pizza but I was hungry so I just stood outside at my car and ate about half of it before I headed back to Wings Event Center to meet the rest of my family. It was a pretty typical take out pizza. The crust is a little doughy but has some texture from corn meal used to stretch it out.

The cheese had that nice golden brown color and the edges of the pepperoni were slightly charred. This was a pretty tasty for the price and the 16″ was way more than I could eat in one sitting. I ended up bringing home. B, who can be pretty picky when it comes to pizza, ended up eating the last two slices the next morning for breakfast despite there still being some Cottage Inn leftover as well (his favorite pizza).

This was a pretty solid take out style pizza. I’m sure Almena Downtown Takeout does well with the people in the area but I’m still just really surprised they don’t have menus posted anywhere…if they even have a set menu. They do this $9.99 special pretty often so you just have to watch their Facebook page. I enjoyed this pizza much more than I thought I would and it’s definitely a good deal. A little advertising might help them bring in some outsiders but they seem to be doing just fine on their own.