Louie's Pizza, “Home of the Grinder,” is one of the few places in Rehoboth Beach that's been around about as long as the Atlantic Ocean. Some of the old timers out there might remember Louie Gouvas' uncle who owned George's Lunch next door where Louie worked back when the Carlton Hotel wasn't a T-shirt shop, Grotto had only one location, The Avenue served pancakes and the Bellmoor Inn was the Dinner Bell. The same family has owned Louie's for umpteen-many years and they take the place very seriously. Dad (the original Louie) can be seen riding his bike around town smiling and waving at deserving locals. He is now back at the restaurant after some health problems. If you're lucky, you will see Tim and/or Tony pretty much any day doing what they have always done: manning the counter or prepping food behind the counter, just like old times.
You can buy Louie's pizzas in small, large and as slices. There is nothing quite like standing on the Boardwalk and chomping on a Louie's slice – especially if it has pepperoni on it! Their pizza is one of the closest I've had to the brick-oven pizzas in New York City. Though Louie's uses a standard conveyor oven, the pepperoni topping still gets crispy and crunchy, and the crust crackles when you bite into it. Nirvana! If you order a slice, they run it back through the oven and all the crispiness comes back. ALWAYS let them run it back through the oven. That's what a Louie's slice is all about.
Louie's Pizza1/14 
The iconic sign.2/14 
Louie's Pizza3/14 
The smiling Tim dolin' out pies, subs and fries.4/14 
The guy who started it all: Louie Gouvas.5/14 
NOW do you remember George's Lunch? Sign courtesy RB Museum.6/14 
Made by the boss himself!7/14 
Louie's Pizza8/14 
Louie's Pizza9/14 
Louie's Pizza10/14 
Louie's Pizza11/14 
Louie's Pizza12/14 
Louie's Pizza13/14 
Louie's Pizza14/14
A grinder is New England parlance for a sub that's toasted. Louie's cheesesteak (and all the variations) is layered with cheese and run through that magic oven. The bread toasts and adds a great texture and mouth-feel to the sandwich. I have never met a piece of slightly burned cheese that I didn't like. They don't skimp on the ingredients and the sub…oops, I mean “grinder”… always satisfies. Order the fries well-done. I also ask them to push my pizza back on the belt a little bit to give the cheese, pepperoni and crust a little more crunch.
Like any storefront place that close to the boardwalk, Louie's can get very busy and noisy in the summer, but it's all part of the experience. And if you just can't take the hustle and bustle in the sitting area, get the slices or order your goodies to consume on one of the big benches on the Boardwalk. Yes, there was a period in time when Louie had health problems and the quality of food and service at Louie's slipped. But Louie is back on his bike, and his son Tony is back in the saddle with the always affable Tim. So if you had a bad experience there in 2014 or 2015, read Tony's response below to the now-outdated negative reviews, some of which were so old that I removed them. It is well-thought-out and should reignite your love for their tasty pizzas.
The dining area has been redecorated with old Rehoboth and Louie's memorabilia, and things have been streamlined in the ordering department. Scroll through the gallery to see some of these amazing old photos of Louie's uncle's famous George's Lunch. Lots of history.
Louie's Pizza is located at 11 Rehoboth Avenue, on the north side of the street, just a couple of doors down from the huge “Dolle's” sign. Call 302-227-6002 and Tim or Tony will have your order ready when you get there. Click here to see the pizza menu at Louie's (unfortunately, it's a download). They also have a mobile version you can download here. (L., D.) Price Range: Inexpensive -.
Listen to Tim Gouvas talk on the Sip & Bite Show about all the changes for 2016, along with a lot of great Rehoboth history.
I miss this place and I especially miss my friendship with Tim & Tony, I haven’t seen those guys in a decade now. Around 2012 (?) I was talking with Tim about possibly doing a project together but my life got crazy with my ex-wife and my then-comic book store and that fell apart and I always felt bad about it. Those guys really were good to me and I learned a lot about Rehoboth history just from Tim sharing it with me after hours. Love the Gouvas Family; they’ve done so much for Rehoboth.
I miss George’s! Nothing like a hamburger with ketchup and those amazing fries on a summer day! I swear they were better than Thrasher’s! Before he closed he told my father the secret to the hamburgers (my father had been coming there since he was a kid)… he sprinkled oregano on them! And one night the guy working the window at Louie’s heard me waxing poetic to my husband as he got a piece of pizza and told me to be sure it was Greek oregano. Thanks! 🙂
Wow!!!! This is Tony Louie’s son. I like ur post, not very many people know the oregano secret especially it has to be Greek Oregano, in which u are totally correct. Good for, thank you for that!!!
Louie’s has been our favorite place for over 30 years! Our idea of a great date night is to get our food to go and sit on the boardwalk and people watch. When only one of us is in Rehoboth, we will take a pic of the food and send it to the other, teasing them of course! When our grandson visits from Colorado, Louie’s is the first restaurant he wants to go. Oh, and by the way, the food is perfect beach food, nothing fancy, just great food! Hmmm…now that you have fired up my taste buds, I think we will have to go tonight…
Then my job here is done! :o)
The gift certificate you mentioned, who was it from and when did you purchase it? The reason why I ask is because we were involved with a scam over a year ago that involved a gift certificate company that kept giving gift certificates for a discount without our authority and as a local institution we honored most of them because it involved locals that always supported us, yet at the end it cost us a lot of money but we accepted that.
This is Tony son of Louie and owner. I would like to comment to clear the air regarding these reviews. I know the reviews are from last season but I feel they are still worth talking about. First, as of June 12, 2016 the family is fully involved with the business. My father, brother and me are there regularly. On any given day one of us is there maintaining the business. That how its always been and that’s how it will always be. Yes, there was an issue in the season of 2015 and that was because of the health of my father in which he had triple by pass surgery. After 41 years in business you tend be complacent and as successful as we are, we are not immune to problems. However, I and my family recognize what is broken and what needs to be fixed. As for the comments of my brother and I not being seen at front counter, the reason is we are in the back making sure the food is prepared to the Louie’s Pizza standards. With the poor health of my father, who was always making the dough and pizzas, my brother and I are doing the preparing. This is why we are not present in the front. As a family business, that has a Rehoboth tradition its a fine line when you have to prepare for the second generation to take over. You have to maintain the standards that made you who you are, yet adapt to the current way of doing business that has changed dramatically, because I’ve been in Louie’s all my life and I can honestly say doing business today is night and day than 10, 20, 30 years ago. However, we are maintaining the traditions, yet adapting to the new way of doing business and that means changes, but changes for the better. But there’s NO CHANGES to our pizza. That’s what Louie’s Pizza is all about. And as a matter of fact, this season I’m bringing in my oldest son to learn the recipes from my father and brother to carry the tradition for many many years. To sum up, yes there were changes but these changes were made to make the day to day activities and the store’s appearance up to date, in order to accommodate the customer base to the present time. However our food and preparation of our food has NEVER and WILL NEVER CHANGE, and I invite everyone to come and visit us and you will see the changes and the quality of our food. Thank you for your time and service.
Tony…
Tony,
You are correct, and you and I talked about the changes on my radio show. I am removing the older comments on your review because they are no longer valid. You have addressed the issues and corrected them. Thanks for the note!
Best pizza and fries. owner grouchy. Go there often but place needs a good cleaning
I’ve been going to Louie’s for basically my entire life, and it never disappoints. It was always great to hit Louie’s for dinner after a long day on the beach. Or call in an order and walk from the beach to the shop to pick it up. My go-to is the Cheeseburger Grinder, but their cheesesteaks, pizza and fries are all great.
I have been coming to Louie’s since they opened. And I have ordered a ham grinder every time. I have been a foodie since I was a little girl, and this is one of the most delicious sandwiches of all time. Simply perfect.
Went just for the day with my mom on Mother’s Day. Been going to Rehoboth every year for a week or two during the summer since 1964. We stayed for many years at the orginal Star of the Sea. Louie’s has always been our favorite for pizza, subs and chef salads. My family ask me to bring pizzas, subs and salads from Louie’s. So I took back to Great Falls, Va 3 large pizzas, 1 small pizza, 2 grinders and 2 salads. Love Louie’s!
Louuie’s Pizza is absolutely delectable! We particularly enjoy the onion and green pepper toppings on our pizzas; the thinly sliced vegetables are scrumptious and just the right texture. The crust is tasty, light, and crispy; never greasy. We have been enjoying Louie’s Pizza for over twenty years! We would vote Louie’s Pizza the “Best in Rehoboth Beach”.
So Rehoboth Foodie! I loved your article on the local pizza places at the beach. A long time fan of Grotto’s but now a convert to Louie’s. This is the beach go to pizza place for us. Glad they are open all year round so I can get my pizza fix in december!
simply said – PIZZA is wonderful! Grottos and Nicola! Watch out!
LOVE IT! a local recommended Louie’s and it is now our pizza place at the beach. What can I say but it is the BEST