Sherwood Park’s Nitza’s Pizza closes over nearly $200K rent arrears as Villas on the Green road fight drags on

Sherwood Park, Alberta, Jan 10, 2026, 18:19 (MST)

• Nitza’s Pizza closed its Emerald Hills location following nearly C$200,000 in unpaid rent, according to a report.
• Residents say a separate ownership dispute has left a small subdivision’s access road “orphaned,” stuck in a receivership-related limbo.
• The two disputes highlight rising tensions over leases, land titles, and routine maintenance in Edmonton-area suburbs.

Nitza’s Pizza has shut its Emerald Hills location in Sherwood Park after falling behind on nearly C$200,000 in rent, according to local reports. The Unit 150 spot at 300 Amberley Way was among several Edmonton-area outlets owned by Peter Giannakopoulos. Now, only the St. Albert and Leduc branches remain open, the report added. 1 .

Here’s why it matters now: arrears — those overdue lease payments — quickly turn into real problems for restaurants. When the gap widens, closures often follow, and the debt doesn’t just disappear.

The shutdown coincides with a separate local property dispute unrelated to pepperoni. Nearby homeowners claim a key piece of infrastructure — an access road — is caught in an ongoing ownership battle linked to receivership, a court process for handling assets when a company can’t meet its debts.

Nitza’s Pizza has long been a Sherwood Park staple, with the Emerald Hills spot reportedly the last one left in town, according to a report last month. Heartland News noted the brand originally launched on Wye Road but that location shut down in 2024. The chain also had other outlets nearby, including one later rebranded as Sherwood Pizza. 2 .

Unpaid rent builds up quickly for commercial landlords, creating debts that aren’t easily wiped out through refinancing. For small operators, a couple of rough months can escalate from a minor setback to a full-blown legal headache.

Sherwood Park News reports that residents of Villas on the Green, a 20-home subdivision near Northern Bear Golf Course, have been without a reliable access road for nearly a decade. The road remains “orphaned” amid a tangled ownership dispute complicated further by receivership, leaving responsibility unclear. 3 .

An “orphaned” road is just what it sounds like: a stretch of pavement without a clear owner. When titles, easements, or maintenance agreements get disputed, routine upkeep grinds to a halt as everyone deflects responsibility.

Neither case provides a clear resolution. How much of the unpaid rent tied to the pizza shop will be recouped remains uncertain. The road dispute is dragging on, tangled in court schedules, receivership, and appeals—a process that looks far from quick.

The issues vary in scale, yet a recurring theme emerges in fast-growing suburbs: paperwork matters just as much as the concrete. Once funding dries up or ownership becomes unclear, the consequences quickly become apparent.