This Texas Pizza Spot Is Packed With Custom Movie Props And Nostalgic ’80s Memorabilia

A pizza place that doubles as a museum of 1980s pop culture is a rare and wonderful find. This Texas spot is packed with custom movie props, vintage posters, and nostalgic memorabilia that will take anyone back to their childhood.

A person can enjoy a slice of brick oven pizza while surrounded by Ghostbusters gear, classic arcade games, and iconic film memorabilia. The atmosphere is fun and immersive, making it a perfect destination for families and fans of the era.

The food is consistently good, with a crispy crust and fresh toppings that satisfy every time. The staff is friendly, and the service is quick, ensuring a great experience.

It is a place where the decor is as much of a draw as the food. A visit here is a trip back in time.

A Restaurant Born From Passion, Not Just Pizza

Some restaurants open because someone saw a gap in the market. Darkside Brick Oven Pizza Co. opened because Michael Hawes had a vision that went far beyond filling stomachs.

He wanted to build a place where people could walk in and feel something, that particular warmth that comes from being surrounded by things you loved as a kid.

Michael is already well known among collectors as the owner of one of the world’s largest private Star Wars collections, housed in a 5,000-square-foot gallery at his home.

Bringing that same passion into a public dining space was a natural next step, though the execution took over three years from concept to grand opening on May 9, 2024.

The $2 million building was designed with intention from the ground up. Every corner, every wall, every ceiling detail was considered carefully.

His wife Denice shares his collector’s spirit, with her own deep love for Barbies adding another layer of personality to the space.

The restaurant is also a tribute to Michael’s late mother, Nora Hawes, which gives the whole place an emotional undercurrent that you can feel even if you don’t know the story.

It sits about five miles outside Boerne’s city limits, giving it a genuinely out-in-the-country feel that makes the drive part of the experience.

Arriving there feels like finding a secret that only the best road trips reveal. That combination of heart, history, and ambition is what makes Darkside something truly rare in the Texas dining scene.

Custom Props That Were Built Specifically for This Place

About 85 percent of everything you see inside Darkside was not purchased off a shelf or borrowed from a studio. It was commissioned and built specifically for this restaurant by artists from around the world.

That number alone sets Darkside apart from any themed dining experience in Texas.

A DeLorean Time Machine replica from Back to the Future sits in the space looking like it just landed from 1985. Life-sized Imperial speeder bike troopers from Return of the Jedi stand guard with an eerie sense of presence.

A full-scale model of Scott Howard from Teen Wolf adds a playful, unexpected touch that catches you off guard in the best way.

Each piece was individually commissioned, meaning no two props share the same origin story. Artists across different countries contributed their craft to bring these figures and vehicles to life at a level of detail that rewards close inspection.

You can spend a long time just circling a single piece and keep finding new things to appreciate.

The sheer scale of the effort is hard to wrap your head around until you are standing inside. This was not a quick decorating project.

It was a curatorial endeavor that rivals small pop culture museums. Michael Hawes brought his collector’s eye to every acquisition decision, ensuring that nothing felt random or cheap.

The result is an environment where the props feel like they belong, not like afterthoughts bolted to the walls for effect. Every piece earns its place.

The Iconic ’80s Film Universe Surrounding Every Table

R2-D2 beeps at no one in particular. Chewbacca looms in the corner.

Darth Vader stands with the kind of quiet authority that makes small children grab their parents’ hands. The Star Wars universe is deeply embedded in Darkside’s DNA, and it shows in every direction you look.

Beyond the galaxy far, far away, the restaurant pulls in characters from Ghostbusters, Predator, Terminator, E.T., Gremlins, and even a Jaws installation that earns a genuine double take. The range is impressive because it does not feel scattered.

It feels like someone sat down and thought hard about which films defined a generation and then brought them all into one room with care and respect.

There is also a Rancor from Jabba’s palace, which is the kind of detail that makes Star Wars fans audibly react. Yoda appears in multiple spots throughout the restaurant, including one outdoor seating area where you can eat your pizza directly across from him.

That image alone is worth the drive to Boerne.

For families with younger kids who did not grow up in the ’80s, the experience doubles as an informal film education. Parents get to point and explain, and kids get to be amazed.

The collection creates natural conversation in a way that no generic restaurant decor ever could. It bridges generations without trying too hard, which is probably the most impressive trick the whole space pulls off.

Every film represented here meant something to someone, and that sincerity comes through.

The Diorama Room That Tells Its Own Story

Most restaurants do not have a dedicated exhibit room. Darkside does, and it seats eight to nine people in an intimate setting surrounded by detailed Star Wars dioramas that recreate classic scenes from the films.

It is a space within a space, and it feels like stumbling into a tiny private museum mid-meal.

The diorama room was designed with a specific purpose in mind. Michael Hawes wanted younger generations to connect with the films that shaped his childhood, and a hands-on visual experience accomplishes that better than any conversation could.

Kids who have never seen the original trilogy suddenly have context, and fans who grew up with these films get to relive something they thought only existed in memory.

The craftsmanship inside the room is precise and thoughtful. These are not hastily assembled displays.

Each diorama reflects the kind of attention you would expect from a serious collector who also happens to care deeply about how guests experience his passion. The scale and detail make the scenes feel alive rather than static.

Booking the diorama room for a small group adds a genuinely unique dimension to any visit. It is the sort of experience you describe to people afterward and watch their eyebrows rise.

There is no other pizza restaurant in Texas, and possibly the country, offering this kind of curated exhibit alongside a wood-fired meal. It turns dinner into something closer to an outing, the kind you plan and then talk about for weeks after returning home.

Vintage Arcade Games and Patio Spaces That Complete the Vibe

Somewhere between finishing a slice and deciding whether to order another, you might find yourself in front of a vintage arcade cabinet, feeding quarters into a game you have not thought about in decades. The arcade games at Darkside are not decoration.

They are fully functional, and they are part of what makes the place feel genuinely lived-in rather than staged.

For anyone who grew up haunting arcades in the early ’80s, this detail hits differently. It is the kind of thing that makes time collapse in the best way.

Kids who have only ever played games on screens suddenly understand why their parents talk about arcades with such affection. That cross-generational connection is something Darkside creates effortlessly throughout the space.

Outside, three distinct patio areas give guests options for how they want to experience the Texas air alongside their meal. One of those options involves sitting across from Yoda, which is not a sentence you get to say about many restaurants.

The outdoor space extends the retro universe beyond the walls without losing any of the atmosphere that makes the interior so memorable.

The layout overall manages to feel open and lively without becoming overwhelming or noisy. Part of that is intentional design, and part of it is the surprising sound-dampening effect that all the props provide.

The space breathes well for a 4,000-square-foot building packed with oversized figures and replicas. Every seating area, inside or out, gives you something interesting to look at while you eat.

Wood-Fired Brick Oven Pizza With Roots in New York Tradition

The decor earns the visit, but the pizza earns the return trip. Darkside uses a rotisserie-style brick oven that ensures every pie rotates evenly through the heat, producing a crust that is thin, crispy, and slightly airy in a way that is hard to achieve without serious commitment to technique.

The dough is handmade and fermented for several days before it ever sees an oven.

Michael and Denice Hawes spent considerable time traveling across the United States researching pizza styles, tasting different recipes, and testing oven types before settling on their approach. Some of the recipes they landed on draw from New York pizza traditions that go back more than 60 years.

That kind of research does not happen unless someone genuinely cares about getting it right.

A touch of Texas oak smoke works its way into the cooking process, giving the crust a subtle flavor that you would not find at any New York pizzeria. It is a small regional detail that makes a noticeable difference.

The combination of fermented dough, high heat, and that whisper of oak creates something that feels both familiar and completely its own.

The Meat Lovers pizza loaded with veal meatballs, Italian sausage, and pepperoni is a consistent top seller. Michael’s personal favorite is the Margherita, built simply with basil, garlic, olive oil, and fresh tomatoes.

The BBQ Brisket pizza features brisket sourced fresh weekly from a local vendor, finished with a secret sauce that Denice guards closely. Each pizza tells a small story about who made it and why.

A Menu That Goes Well Beyond Pizza

Pizza is the headline, but the supporting cast on this menu is strong enough to carry its own show. Calzones come out of the same brick oven with that same carefully fermented dough, giving them a texture that holds up without being dense or doughy.

Garlic knots, pepperoni rolls, and tomato and basil bruschetta round out the appetizer options with straightforward, satisfying flavors.

Salads cover the classics well. The Caesar, Greek, House, and Caprese options give lighter eaters something to work with, and the Caprese in particular benefits from the same fresh ingredient philosophy that runs through the pizza menu.

For something heartier, the sandwich list includes a meatball parmigiana, a Philly cheesesteak, Italian club, and a triple club that earns its name.

Dessert is where things get unexpectedly delightful. The Darkside cookie arrives warm with vanilla ice cream and a caramel drizzle, which is exactly the kind of thing you tell yourself you will skip and then absolutely do not skip.

Creme brulee, lemon cake, Oreo cheesecake, New York cheesecake, and chocolate cake round out a dessert menu that takes the final course seriously.

The BBQ Chicken pizza uses a recipe passed down from Michael’s mother, which gives it a personal history that most menu items simply do not have. That kind of backstory changes how a dish tastes, or at least how it feels to eat it.

Everything here connects back to someone’s care, whether it is a family recipe or a sourcing relationship with a local brisket vendor. The menu has warmth built into it.

Why Darkside Is Worth the Drive From San Antonio and Beyond

Five miles outside Boerne’s city limits might sound like a commitment, but that drive through the Texas Hill Country is part of what makes arriving at Darkside feel like an event. The open landscape around the restaurant gives it a sense of discovery that a strip mall location never could.

You feel like you found something rather than just pulled off a highway.

San Antonio sits close enough that a day trip is completely reasonable, and plenty of visitors make exactly that journey on weekends. The restaurant draws people from across the region who have heard about the props, the pizza, or both, and leave talking about the combination of the two.

Word travels fast when a place is genuinely unlike anything else around.

For families especially, Darkside solves the age-old problem of finding somewhere that works for everyone. Little kids are captivated by the figures.

Teenagers actually put their phones down to look around. Adults get hit with waves of nostalgia between bites of brisket pizza.

It is rare for a single restaurant to land that well across generations, and Darkside does it without feeling like it is trying to.

The whole experience, the drive, the props, the dough, the diorama room, the outdoor Yoda seating, adds up to something you remember long after the meal is over. Texas has no shortage of great food destinations, but very few of them feel like this.

Darkside Brick Oven Pizza Co. earns its place among the state’s most memorable spots, one custom prop and one crispy slice at a time.

Address: 25 Truss Dr, Boerne, TX 78006.