Fans Voted On The Best Pizza Chain (And It’s Not Pizza Hut)

Pizza fans have spoken and, apparently, the big pizza chains need to more to win people’s hearts over. A recent Readers’ Choice Award poll asked people to pick the best national pizza chain in America and your faves didn’t win. Pizza Hut didn’t win. Domino’s didn’t win. And Little Caesars didn’t win, either.

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The winner was Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza & Wings, a smaller chain that has only around 50 locations. Unless you live in Florida or around the Northeast, there’s a pretty good chance Anthony’s has never crossed your radar.

Smaller Than Most Of Its Competition

Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza & Wings first opened in 2002 and has grown to roughly 50 restaurants across six states: Florida, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Delaware. That is a pretty small footprint compared with the pizza giants most Americans know.

Donatos, which finished second in the same Reviewed vote, has more than 460 locations across about 29 states. Jet’s Pizza, another familiar name among pizza fans, has more than 400 locations. Blaze Pizza has close to 300.

Anthony’s had a much smaller audience to work with, yet enough people knew and loved the chain to push it into first place.

The rest of Reviewed’s top 10 included Giordano’s in third, Mellow Mushroom in fourth, Blaze Pizza in fifth, Jet’s Pizza in sixth, California Pizza Kitchen in seventh, MOD Pizza in eighth, Your Pie Pizza in ninth, and Round Table Pizza in tenth.

Meanwhile, Pizza Hut didn’t even make the top 10.

The Coal-Fired Oven Is A Big Deal

The name gives away Anthony’s biggest trick. The chain cooks its pizza in coal-fired ovens that reach temperatures of around 900 degrees Fahrenheit. That intense heat gives the crust a darker, crispier edge and adds the charred look that Anthony’s is known for.

The pizza dough is made in-house, while the chain says it uses Italian tomatoes and freshly grated Pecorino Romano. The menu also includes meatballs, garlic knots, Italian starters, sandwiches, pasta, and salads.

Anthony’s Has A Growing Fan Club

Another item that may have helped Anthony’s become such a fan favorite is the wings.

The restaurant cooks its chicken wings in the same coal-fired ovens and fans online have been especially enthusiastic about them. In Reddit discussions, several diners said the wings were the part of the meal that kept them coming back. That’s a little funny for a pizza chain. The pizza is supposed to be the main character, but the wings appear to be making a serious attempt at stealing the show. And that’s not to say the pizza itself is bad.

There’s A $9.99 Deal To Celebrate

Anthony’s is also celebrating the latest win with a pretty tempting offer.

For a limited time, dine-in customers can get a 12-inch cheese pizza and six garlic knots for $9.99. The promotion is being offered at Anthony’s locations as part of the celebration for its Readers’ Choice victory.

With only about 50 locations, the chain has a long way to go before it can compete with Pizza Hut or Domino’s in sheer size. But if fans keep handing Anthony’s awards, more pizza lovers may start asking the same question: when is Anthony’s coming to their neighborhood?