Editor’s note: Sorry we’re a little late today. But, hey: it’s free delivery!

Welcome to the 10th edition of Pizzavania: a mini-milestone worth celebrating. Thanks to everyone for becoming a part of this Pennsylvania pizza community. A friendly reminder to keep letting all your pizza-loving friends know about what we’re doing, and that all past, present, and future Pizzavania stories and videos can be found right here.

A few editions back I explained that I am not above a frozen pizza in certain situations, like after a night of revelry, when that fourth meal seems like a perfectly reasonable idea. I’ve got a couple in the freezer right now for just such a scenario.

Instacart recently did a deep dive into Pennsylvania and America’s 2025 frozen pizza ordering data to uncover how consumers are enjoying the freezer staple, from the most popular toppings and styles nationwide to the states that stock their freezers the fullest.

So how much frozen pizza did Pennsylvania order last year? What was our go-to frozen pizza topping? And, most importantly, where do we stand on pineapple and ham on our frozen pizzas?

You’ll find all that info and more right here.

In our last edition we asked: What do you prefer to drink with your pizza: beer, soda, wine, or water?

Of those four options, soda came out on top with 30% of the vote, followed by beer with 28%, wine at 25%, and water (gotta stay hydrated) at 17%.

Given that we were just talking about frozen pizza, for our latest poll, we’d like to know: What’s your go-to frozen pizza?

I’ve always been partial to Trader Joe’s frozen pies. Lately, I’ve been loving their new white pie, the Pizza Bianca.

What’s your fave frozen pizza? Reply with your answer!

Sebastian Besiso in front of the ovens at his Apizzeria 888 in Elkins Park. (Patrick Berkery)

Getting your hands on a pie from Apizzeria 888 by Sebastian in Elkins Park isn’t as simple as placing an order online, or picking up the phone and hearing a voice on the other end say ‘Pickup or delivery?’ 

There is no online ordering. When you call the shop’s phone number, you get a voicemail greeting with instructions on how to reserve a pie—though that’s no guarantee you’ll get one. Apizzeria 888 is a one-man operation that is currently open around “12 to 15 hours a week, give or take,” owner Sebastian Besiso told me: Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights.

It even takes a bit of digging to find the limited menu. You’ve got to track it down through the shop’s Google listing.  

But trust me on this: the effort required to land one of the practically credit card-thin and crispy Roman-style pies Besiso serves up from his takeout-only storefront just outside of Philadelphia is well worth it. Read all about it below. 

It’s official: Beloved Old Forge pizzeria Ghigiarelli’s has reopened. The pizzeria, whose roots can be traced back to 1926, closed following the 2017 murder of owner Robert Baron during a robbery at the business—a cold case that went unsolved until 2023. 

Ghigiarelli’s reopened last Friday and sold out in short order. They sold out quickly on Saturday too.

“We apologize to anyone who was not able to get pizza this weekend,” the pizzeria wrote in a Facebook post. “Thank you again for the outpouring (of) support and hope to see you all in the coming weeks!”

Ghigiarelli’s will be open Wednesday through Sunday, 4:30 pm-7:30 pm, going forward.

These state-specific pizza magnets are available from Popp’s Trophies. (Popp’s Trophies)

Whether you’re a pizzeria looking for a unique promotional item, or you need to buy a gift for the pizza lover in your life, you should check out Popp’s Pizza Peel Magnets from Popp’s Trophies.

Popp’s has produced customized peel magnets for pizzerias across the country, including western Pa. shops like A Slice of New York in Murrysville and Rocco’s Pizzeria in Youngwood.

For consumers, Popp’s offers state-specific magnets, like their pepperoni, Margherita, and white pie Pennsylvania magnets (pictured above). Founder Todd DeGroat told me these are currently only available via their Pizza Peel Collectibles show which streams on the live shopping marketplace Whatnot. 

The next time they’ll be available through Whatnot is Sunday at 7 p.m.

Correction: In the last edition of Pizzavania, we mistakenly identified Joe Beddia’s book “Pizza Camp” as “Pizza Brain” in a photo caption.

Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Patrick Berkery. It was edited by Brook Bolen.

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