Ian Lafkowitz and Pete Levin

If you’ve been in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the past five years, you’ve heard the name “Joe’s Pizza.” The iconic institution from New York came to Ann Arbor in 2019 thanks to two University of Michigan alumni and the Joe’s family who knew it was the perfect place to expand. Ian Lafkowitz (pictured on the left) and Pete Levin (right) both went to Michigan for undergraduate school, left as lifelong Michigan fans, and contribute to the Ann Arbor community in multiple ways.

Lafkowitz has been a Michigan fan since he was 11 years old. It all started in 1989 when Seton Hall and Michigan played in the NCAA Finals, he grew up in New Jersey as a Syracuse fan and hated Seton Hall.

“I was going to root for whoever they were playing against, and it happened to be Michigan. Michigan won an incredible game at the end, and then I went into the next year and started watching Michigan football, and I just became a lifelong Michigan fan,” said Lafkowitz.

Afterwards, it was Ann Arbor or bust for him. He was determined to attend Michigan, and did so, graduating in 2000 from the College of Literature, Science and the Arts. After graduating, Lafkowitz had careers in finance and writing. He lived in Greenwich Village, where he became a regular customer at Joe’s. He got to know the Joe’s family and partnered with them in 2011. In 2013, they opened the second Joe’s location in Union Square. Since then, Lafkowitz has continued to work with the Joe’s family to open more locations and expand outside of New York. Now, Lafkowitz operates as the head of expansion and business development.

“I don’t work in the restaurant, the Joe’s family knows exactly how to do that, I don’t,” said Lafkowitz. “They handle everything in the restaurant and I handle everything outside the restaurant, and it’s been a very successful family business for a long time.”

Meanwhile, Levin opened a beloved Michigan Alumni bar in New York in 2005 called Professor Thom’s. After more than 10 years of Levin building up his alumni network connections, Thom’s became the go-to spot to watch Michigan sports and one of the most famous sports bars in NYC, frequently visited by former Michigan standouts including Desmond Howard, Dhani Jones, Michael Phelps, Rick Leach and several others. It was featured on The Rachael Ray Show and ESPN's Sportscenter twice, among several other TV spots, and led to Levin becoming a four-time judge on Beat Bobby Flay.

Levin’s role in these notable television programs should come as no surprise, as he studied film at Michigan as an undergraduate. In his time in New York, he also worked at Saturday Night Live for 18 years.

At Professor Thom’s, he became friends with Lafkowitz, who would frequently come into the bar for Michigan games. At the time, Lefkowitz was already a Joe’s partner, looking to expand Joe’s outside of New York. One football game showed them where that first location should be.

“We came out here for a football game against Wisconsin in October of 2018, and while we were out here looking at various projects, we came to the conclusion that opening a Joe’s here could be a great opportunity,” said Levin.

“I was not thinking about a Joe’s in Ann Arbor at all,” said Lafkowitz. “The morning of the game I went for a walk around campus, and I saw this big development that really stood out, that was in the ground going up. My first thought was ‘Man, I hope they put something good here.’ I’ve always felt this part of town was underserved.”

Lafkowitz was referencing the development projects happening on South University at the time, close to popular spots like The Brown Jug and Blue Leprechaun. New high-rises were going up in the area, bringing more foot-traffic to the east side of Central Campus. After talking with Levin and enjoying the game, they realized the development would be the perfect spot for a Joe’s Pizza. Shortly after, Lafkowitz and Levin brought the Joe’s family to Ann Arbor to scope out the city.

“There were opportunities all over the country, but the Joe’s family really understood the value of opening here and what a tremendous opportunity it was. They loved it here and gave us their full support in partnering here,” said Levin.

Joe’s Pizza opened less than a year later in 2019, and it was the first location for the iconic institution outside of New York. Multiple members of the Joe’s family have since stayed in Ann Arbor, and Levin works as the operating partner of the location with the Joe’s family.

Levin and Lafkowitz have also played a role in the Michigan Athletic Department. Both have made generous gifts to the department for their respective passions. Lafkowitz is most passionate about men’s basketball.

“I have such a soft spot for the basketball team and they’re a big part of my life as a Knicks season ticket holder,” said Lafkowitz. “My son is a very active basketball fan, so I just want to see the basketball team really develop successfully and build that sort of trust with their fan base, and get everyone excited and sort of get back on top.”

Levin had preexisting relationships with the athletic department prior to moving back to Ann Arbor.

“Several different former athletes would come into my bar and I built those relationships. It continued as soon as I moved here, both with football and basketball, but also with gymnastics,” said Levin.

“We were looking at different programs, and we have a daughter who is very interested in gymnastics,” he explained. “As soon as I met (head coach) Bev (Plocki) I knew that that was the direction I wanted to go. We’ve gotten to know her very well and do our best to support the gymnastics program.”

Levin and Lafkowitz are dedicated to giving back to the Ann Arbor community in any way they can. Both try to stay involved and work with U-M’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and include charitable organizations when they can. This year, Joe’s Pizza partnered with Michigan quarterback Alex Orji for an NIL deal. They partnered with clothing brand KIWICLO for a pop-up shopping experience to benefit Mott Hospital and the RG3 Foundation, a non-profit that supports individuals experiencing food insecurity.

“We try to keep it as organic as possible and continue to try to think of fun and different ideas, rather than just doing your standard partnership where somebody posts on Instagram,” said Levin. “We want to try to involve charitable organizations as much as possible with anything we do.”

Ian and Pete value supporting the University and Ann Arbor community through their philanthropy and business endeavors. Thanks to them and the Joe’s family, Joe’s Pizza has become an integral part of campus and the town. Their support of the University and Michigan Athletics makes an impact on a daily basis and they hope to continue to grow alongside the University, giving back to the community they’re so fond of.