Locally, such names as Mikey’s Late Night Slice, Harvest Pizzeria, Natalie’s Coal-Fired Pizza and Live Music and GoreMade Pizza have emerged.Ĭhris Crader, “head harvester” for Grow Restaurants, parent company of Harvest Pizzeria, said he believed Columbus pizza had grown monotonous. Some of the early major players still are around: Iacono’s, Rubino’s, Rotolo’s, Terita’s, Gatto’s and the godfather of them all, Donatos.Īs Americans became more mobile and Columbus expanded, new styles of pizza emerged, and chains popular elsewhere penetrated central Ohio’s right-angled fortress. It’s potentially a life-threatening situation.” “They cannot comprehend a square-cut pizza,” Ellison said. The style has made for some heated arguments among pizza connoisseurs. Pizzerias then began to proliferate, and the squares had bested the triangles at the time.
Sirij, meanwhile, had roots in New Jersey and Naples, Italy, so the two were believed to have melded the two styles. Massey was a baker from Chicago, where square “tavern” cuts were served to hungry workers who were headed home after a beer and some cheap eats, Ellison said. It is believed that the style was introduced at Romeo’s – not related to the regional chain – founded in 1950 by Jimmy Massey and Romeo Sirij at the corner of West Fifth and North Star avenues. The history of why Columbus pizzerias favored the party cut isn’t quite clear, but it is believed to be adopted from Chicago, home to the more famous deep-dish-style pizza, Ellison said. “It tended not to have mozzarella or provolone – maybe American or a sprinkle of Parmigiano-Reggiano.”ĭante's opened in 1973 and is at 3586 Indianola Ave.
The pizza "tended to be thicker,” said Ellison, 51, an Upper Arlington resident who grew up in Clintonville and ate Dante's Pizza at age 5. It eventually moved to its present location at 1210 S. in a neighborhood commonly known as Flytown back then, according to Ellison's book. Jim Ellison, commonly known by his nom de plume, CMH Gourmand, recently wrote “Columbus Pizza: A Slice of History," published by Arcadia Publishing and the History Press.Įven the most casual observers of pizza likely will recognize Columbus’ characteristic thin crust, ladled with a slightly sweet sauce seasoned with oregano, spread edge to edge with toppings and, most noticeable of all, cut into squares, also known as a party-cut style.īut that’s not the way Columbus pizza started in the 1930s – when, in some areas of the country, it was called tomato pie – and was served at a couple of local places, including TAT Ristorante Di Famiglia, which now is in east Columbus. Columbus' pizza history might not be as glamorous as New York City’s or as unique as Chicago’s, but central Ohio has its own distinct style of pie that is worthy of bragging rights, according to one local author.
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