Birdie’s Pizza Lands At The Plaza
With some familiar faces in the crowd...
Editor’s Note: This was an announcement party for Birdies at The Plaza. They are not quite open there yet.
McMenamins “The Wheel” Rolling Into Downtown, Papacitos closed. Revenir is almost open. Birdie’s is at the plaza now. And 4 Waffles Luxe might be at Common Fields soon (rumor).
Birdie’s Pizza, the hit Philomath pizza shop that has developed a loyal following since opening last year, has now expanded into downtown with a new location inside The Plaza.
(Photo: Birdie’s Pizza)
The original Birdie’s opened in Philomath in March 2025. Owners Scott Willcockson, Jeremiah Mulder, and Jesse Durocher met while working together at Gathering Together Farm before venturing out on their own.
The restaurant specializes in New York and Detroit-style pizza, with an emphasis on sourcing ingredients locally, when possible. The concept caught on quickly. Birdie’s experienced heavy demand almost immediately after opening and quickly became a popular pizza destination.
If we are getting Detroit-style pizza, maybe we’ll get a “Mom’s Spaghetti” next. A popular Detroit destination co-owned by Eminem. Rumor has it Eminem bought a house in Tetherow… in Bend. Oregon. Ugh. So we might be out of luck on that one.
Don’t fear, we had other famous faces at the Plaza for Birdie’s opening.
Among those was Tarsa Weikert, who is running for the Ward 2 seat on the Corvallis City Council. Also, there was Andrew Struthers, who is running for Mayor against Charles Maughan again. Struthers lost the 2022 mayoral election to current Mayor Charles Maughan by only 34 votes.
And then there was Lee Eckroth.
We previously wrote about Eckroth and his investments downtown, along with his philosophies about revitalization. Eckroth owns and renovated The Plaza (along with many other downtown buildings), which has quickly become a popular spot for hosting events and offering places to relax and eat.
(Photo: instagram.com/tarsaforward2/, pictured: Tarsa Weikert, Lee Eckroth, Andrew Struthers)
Birdie’s opening seems to fly pretty neatly into Eckroth’s ideology. Not too long ago, The Plaza was an empty department store. Now, it’s a popular place to eat, socialize, and take part in the community.
It’s been a busy week of changes. Maybe the plan is starting to take shape. Maybe it’s the beginning of something new. Maybe it’s all just a coincidence. At least Birdie’s landed and didn’t hit a window at the new courthouse… or get eaten by a cat we elected for Mayor.
(Photo: instagram.com/tarsaforward2/
This article was written by Brian Lindensmith, a contributor to The Corvallis Inquirer. Feel free to send us your stories or articles to publish at: editor@corvallisnow.com
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The question is, do they sell it by the SLICE? Because you they don't sell it by the slice, it ain't New You style pizza.