Anne Thompson and her husband, Dan, started Joanie's Pizza in Chelmsford, Massachusetts three years ago — but a single online review of their New York-style pie has quadrupled their business.
Controversial internet blogger Dave Portnoy of Barstool Sports paid the local joint a visit shortly after Thanksgiving, and posted a review in December — he rated the pizza 8.4 and later declared it his favorite in the Bay State.
"This is spectacular," Portnoy said in his review. "How doesn't this place have a line around the corner?"
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That's basically what happened after the review was posted, and a month later, the fever hasn't died down.
"He posted this review and it was immediate," Thompson said. "It was like the night that it posted, we had people coming in because of it and talking about it."
Thompson said based on the amount of flour they've been ordering, they estimate they've increased their pizza sales four-fold. The wait time for dinner can be up to two hours, and Joanie's has already onboarded more staff, with the training process ongoing.
"We thought we were busy before," Thompson said. "Now it's super busy... and it really has not died down."
People have been coming from all over the area to try the pizza — some as far away as Montreal. The lines have been so long, that some locals have been avoiding it until some of the mania fades a bit.
Tamara Lacasse was in the area to go with her mother to a doctor's appointment and decided to stop in to Joanie's to try it for herself.
"I saw it on Dave Portnoy's best pizzas in Massachusetts — I figured I'd try it out!"
Thompson described Joanie's pizza as having New York-style crust in that it's crispy but also chewy on the inside. It's cooked pretty dark, so it can resemble New Haven-style pizza.
"I feel like we’ve been kind of riding a bronco and you're just trying to hang on and figure out a rhythm," Thompson said. "This is our favorite pizza — that’s why we’re selling it — and I'm happy when it's other people's favorite."
