Gallicchio’s Perfect Pies, a Monthly Review: Panzera’s Pizza
Born and raised in Columbus, Mike Gallicchio is first and foremost an entrepreneur. You might be familiar with some of his work. He’s owner of the Columbus Food Truck Festival, Columbus Wine Festival, and Columbus Fiery Foods Festival, as well as a food truck fabrication company, Titan Trucks. His father (Pops) is the real pizza connoisseur of Columbus—He owned several Domino’s Pizza franchises. Once he was old enough, though, Gallicchio spent many a night makin’ pies and traveling from store to store proofing dough and slapping sauce. While he’s since eked out a living in a different part of Columbus’ cuisine scene, Gallicchio’s love for all things pizza has remained, and searching out perfect pies is something he’s passionate about. Every month, you can count on Gallicchio to share one of his favorite pizza places. Will it be one of your own favorites, or a new place to try?
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Pizza for breakfast rating: 3
Sometimes you have to go home back to where it all started, and my personal pizza journey started way back in Grandview. I used to flip pies for Domino’s pizza, which was located on the corner of 3rd Avenue and Grandview Avenue, and located right across the street from this Domino’s was one of the most epic pizza joints in all of Columbus (and still is), and that was Panzera’s Pizza!
Panzera’s Pizza has two locations—one of them is a small hole-in-the-wall spot located at 3794 Fairlington Dr., and the original Panzera’s Pizza is located at 1354 Grandview Ave.
When we have a craving for Panzera’s Pizza, we usually hit the upper Arlington location. Super friendly service, and the owner operator is always nice. If you like to support small businesses I recommend trying out this location.
Panzera’s Pizza is a bonafide, iconic, Columbus-style pizza. The crust is just superb; I don’t know what they do to make it so great or how they do it, but that crust has stayed the same for the 25-plus years since I’ve been eating this legendary pizza. It’s crispy and thin. The sauce is spicy, and Panzera’s Pizza uses plenty of toppings and their pepperoni has a mild kick. As a side note, I love their Italian subs—one of the best in Cbus.
If you’re looking for an old-school, classic pizza shop and Columbus-style, square-cut pizza, look no further than Panzera’s Pizza—and oh, by the way, they are in my top five pizza shops in Columbus.
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