1st Avenue Pizza, Books & Ice Cream — Restaurant in Dayton

Drove from Charleston,TN after seeing reviews and pics from this adorable place 😁 the staff was very friendly and the place was different from the typical pizza place for sure. Everything was pretty clean I was worried about dust from all the items they have for sale however they seem to keep up on that. The fish tank kind of threw me off, maybe change what kind of fish are in the tank to a type of fish that can't possibly have several inches of fesces hanging off of them. My daughter pointed it out immediately and it sort of threw me off for dinner. We ordered 2 pizzas, one pepperoni and one half chz/half sausage. We got a cheese pizza and a half sausage/half cheese pizza. The staff said that we had made a change to our order before we paid and they had forgotten to rewrite on the paper they wrote the orders on so they took the cheese back immediately and added pepperoni on top which was fine but not completely the same. The staff was overly friendly trying to fix it and it only took a few minutes. The garlic knots were delicious 😎 I wish I had just gotten them. I could possibly be somewhat of a pizza snob but I found the pizza to be just ok, the sauce was somewhat bland and lacked more seasoning. It was just ok, not bad but nothing to drive back there for. Overall it is a fun place and I'm glad we went to try it 😊 also the ice cream! Possibly the...

I was hungry for a gluten-free meal while visiting people on Dayton Mountain. I was surprised to find this gem of a place in the heart of the city. As you can tell, this place is unique. They have a great cauliflower crust for all the toppings toppings you can choose from as they make it right in front of you. Then, the finished master piece goes into the brick oven to cook to perfection. The staff were very friendly and helpful throughout the whole process. I put my drink down on the table to take pictures and look around, and my table was cleared immediately. Super efficient staff. As you can see, I got half bbq chicken and mushrooms/black olives. I was very impressed with the quality of the pizza. It was exactly what I was hungry for, and I left stuffed.

They also have Gelato, but nothing gluten-free at this time.

The best part of the store is the book selection to buy and browse. The Book Archway, as you come in the door, is old books from a local school the owner stated. Don't ask for a romance novel because none here, but the good books.

Would I recommend this place absolutely yes. Will I come...

We love 1st Avenue! It’s such a unique, cool, local spot that we love supporting. We recently had to pivot our “food plans” for our kiddo’s birthday party… and it was 1st Avenue to the rescue. They were so kind and accommodating of our big order (and kindly took it the night before). Our guests (most non-local having it for the first time), kept commenting on how much they loved the pizza. It was a big hit! Again recently, I had out of town guests, and they loved this pizza so much they requested it twice. For awhile after having my son, I had ironically “lost my appetite” for most pizza…. But not 1st avenue’s. The crust, sauce and toppings are wonderful and taste like quality. I love how you can easily customize the toppings for large crowds. I also love all of their extra options like gluten free, low carb, crustless - a true rarity. The restaurant itself is also neat with all of the books and just the general vibe - it’s such a cool concept. Last, but certainly not least…. Everyone is so nice! Definitely recommend this local gem that Dayton is...